Scrubs
by happy45
Summary: Since she was a little girl, all Brooke Davis wanted to be was a doctor. She had a habit of trying to fix people, so it was natural that it extended into her professional life. What she didn't anticipate about being a doctor, however, was a broody blonde-haired, blue-eyed surgeon arriving in Raleigh Med and changing her world.
1. It's in the Eyes

**Hi everyone! I wanted to give this story a little bit of a test drive... it's kind of a One Tree Hill meets Grey's Anatomy-esque story (with a lot less surgery). So essentially - a Brucas story set in a hospital! I'll not reveal anymore as you'll just have to read on to find what this story is all about...**

**I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter One – It's in the Eyes

"_Oh god, where is my bra…"_ Brooke grumbled as she dragged the sheet that was covering her body off the bed and began rummaging around the room. She had over indulged last night which had resulted in her now being late for work. She was already dreading the reception she would get from her superiors when she got there.

"Nope, can't help you there, cause if you find it then you'll have to leave…" a scruffy voice grumbled from the bed as she turned to look at him with a smirk on her face.

"Chase…" she began to protest as he sat up and looked at her.

"I'm serious, just stay in bed with me" he said with a lop-sided smirk, trying to entice her back.

"I have to go to work—ah ha!" she exclaimed as she spotted her bra over the top of the lamp shade. "Thanks for nothing" she said as she briefly crawled over the bed and planted a short but sweet kiss on Chase's lips.

As she tried to move back, Chase pulled her back, causing her to squeal as he held her underneath him. "You didn't say it" he said cryptically.

Brooke furrowed her eyebrows, "Say what?"

"_I have to go and save lives_" he said mimicking her voice as Brooke feigned annoyance and smacked him on the arm.

"I do not always say that!"

"Yes, you do, you and all your little surgeon friends say it all the time, your egos never cease to amaze me." He teased.

Brooke scoffed and rolled them over she was now hovering over him, her hands placed on either side of his head as her brunette curls cascaded down her face. "Well, you have to have a pretty big ego to saw through a person's chest, hold their heart in your hands and believe that you can fix it…" she reasoned. "It's a controlled arrogance."

"What happens if it gets out of control?"

"… we end up killing people." She said before bouncing off the bed to find the rest of her clothes.

Ever since she was a little girl, Brooke Davis could only see herself as one thing – a doctor. She always had this innate need to fix the people around her, whether successful or not, and she found herself quickly turning it into a career. She steamed through college and med school and got herself a place at one of the top residency programmes in North Carolina. It was the most difficult thing she had ever done – emotionally, physically, mentally, but she wouldn't have it any other way. She got such a rush out of her job and she was exceptionally good at it too. It was unsurprising to many considering her parents were two of the top cardiothoracic surgeons in the country. There must have been something in the water.

It was probably fair to say that Brooke lived and breathed surgery. She worked ridiculous hours at the hospital before coming home and studying some more and then heading straight back into work, which was why she loved the time she could spend with Chase. She didn't know many people who weren't doctors. He was a bar tender and was just so _normal_ in Brooke's eyes. She needed some normality in her life to ease the pressure she put on herself.

"Must be hard. Gambling with life and death every day" Chase said. Brooke looked up at him, a little surprised. He'd never really shown an interest in her job and when he had, it was just to tease her about the famous surgical ego that seemed to plague doctors everywhere.

"Yeah, it's hard… but I wouldn't want to be doing anything else." She said with certainty. "Though if I don't leave now, I may have to start looking for something else…" she said, knowing that she would probably get chastised for being late.

"Ok, fine, I see how it is" he said, faking offence. "Will I be seeing you tonight?" he asked as he slipped his boxer shorts on and walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"I'll call you when I get off, we can meet at Tric?" she suggested as he nodded his head and quickly kissed her.

"It's a date" he confirmed before Brooke pulled away from him and rushed out the door.

Brooke managed to sneak through the ER undetected and into the resident's lounge to get changed. As she changed into her light blue scrubs, she checked her phone for her pages and saw she had _tonnes_ – mainly from her best friend and roommate Rachel asking her where she was. She also had a few passive aggressive messages from her superiors telling her to get her butt to the ER ASAP.

"Nice of you to join us slut" Rachel grumbled in her ear as she helped Brooke with her trauma gown.

"The only thing slutty in this ER is _you_. Don't think I didn't see you with your tongue down Owen's throat last night at Tric…" Brooke told her as Rachel smirked.

"I don't kiss and tell."

"My ass you don't—"

"_Davis!"_ she heard a voice shout as she jumped slightly and turned around to see one of the chief of general surgery staring her down. "I can only assume your late appearance was due to a broken alarm clock?" she asked, knowing full well that wasn't why she was late.

"Dr. Grant—" Brooke began, but she was cut off.

"I don't have time for excuses, we need to get going." She said as all the residents gathered round. "We have a number of calls coming in, so I need you all to be on top form, it's going to get mad and we need all hands on deck. Thankfully, since the hospital has begun their merger with nearby Raleigh Hope Hospital, we have a lot more surgeons on staff today—"

"_Shit_, the merger's starting _today?"_ Brooke grumbled to Rachel, completely forgetting about all the new faces that would be joining the hospital. The residents were incredibly anxious about the prospect. A merger like this meant that jobs would have to be cut. There were simply too many staff and not enough money to pay them, she they knew they had to be on top form.

"Yeah, they didn't have enough blue scrubs for them so they're running around in these _hideous_ green ones. They certainly stick out like sore thumbs, they're swarming the place like locusts waiting to take all our surgeries right from under our noses-" Rachel complained.

"Dr. Davis, Dr. Gatina, do you have something you would like to share with the group?" Dr. Grant asked them as everyone turned to look at the two doctors who looked like deer caught in headlights.

"No Dr. Grant" Rachel replied with a tight-lipped smile.

"Then pay attention to what I'm asking you to do." Dr. Grant said sternly before turning back to the rest of the residents.

"God, she really thinks that because she's married to your dad she can talk to you like that? It's a total _joke_." Rachel said as she crossed her arms over her chest. Kate Grant had come into Brooke's life like a whirlwind. She swept up her father just as he was divorcing her mother 12 years ago and naturally, she and Brooke didn't always see eye to eye. It wasn't that she hated Kate or anything, she just never really took the time to get to know her. As soon as her father married her, they moved from New York to North Carolina and Brooke didn't follow. She finished high school in Manhattan, attended Colombia and then moved out here. By then, she was over the idea of becoming best friends with her step-mother.

Brooke sighed, "she's just doing her job and making sure we surgical residents know our place—"

Before Rachel could reply in her defence, the doors to the ER swung open and two people were wheeled in, shouting various profanities at one another with the paramedics tried to remove themselves from the situation.

"Graham Jefferson, 54, had his hand smashed with the pointed end of the hammer" the paramedic explained as Kate looked over and saw the hammer embedded in the man's hand.

"He slept with my wife, it's _ridiculous_, some best friend you are!" the other man on the opposite trolley shouted as Brooke and Rachel looked on in a mixture of amusement and horror at the ridiculous nature of this situation.

"Foster Maxwell, 53, after he lodged the hammer in Mr. Jefferson's hand, he then punched him in the face – suspected broken hand."

"I'd _clobber_ you again if I had the chance!" Mr. Maxwell exclaimed as Kate swooped in to try and calm him down.

"Mr. Maxwell, let us take a look at your hand—"

"No, I oughta kill you Jefferson!" he shouted as his anger raged. He shoved past Kate, pounded over to Mr. Jefferson and pulled the hammer out of his hand causing him to scream in pain. Mr. Maxwell raised his arm to slam the hammer back in Mr. Jefferson's hand—

_SMACK. _

Mr. Maxwell was tackled to the ground by someone wearing those hideous green scrubs.

Brooke and Rachel jumped back as the new guy held Maxwell down until security got here to take him to a more secluded location that was far away from Mr. Jefferson.

"Wow, impressive…" Kate commented as the new guy got to his feet. Brooke watched as he turned around and she finally saw his face. An exceptionally cute face at that. Somehow, he was making those awful green scrubs work, though Brooke had a feeling that the blue scrubs would really compliment his eyes.

"I played football in high school" the new guy joked.

"Alright… I like a doctor who's alert. Keep it up" Kate praised before walking away. The new guy smirked slightly before looking up and catching Brooke's eye. Normally, she would have been quick to turn away, but she found herself continuing to stare. His smirk widened before she heard Kate snap her name.

"_Davis. Focus_." She warned as Brooke let out a breath and began to get stuck in with the influx of patients.

* * *

Later that day Brooke was walking through the general surgery wing of the hospital after checking in on some patients for her attendings. She'd had a crazy day and had barely been given a minute to breathe. She looked down at the charts in her hand just as she turned the corner and bumped into someone.

"Oh, I'm sorry—" she said as she looked up, her breath catching in her throat as she met the crystal blue eyes and the charming smirk of the new guy from the ER.

"I was wondering if I'd get to bump into you today" he said as he folded his arms over his chest. "I saw you checking me out in the ER…"

Brooke scoffed, "Well, that was quite the show you put on down there."

The guy shrugged, "Just doing my job."

"I didn't realise being a surgeon required tackling patients to the ground…"

"Just saving lives. It is what we do after all." He bragged. Brooke held back a laugh. There was that ego thing Chase had such a problem with.

"So noble." Brooke teased.

"So pretty girl… do I get a name?" he asked, taking another step closer and Brooke's heart started to pound in her chest. This guy was charming, that's for sure, but she was Brooke Penelope Davis—_two _could play at that game.

"Do I?" she asked back.

"Lucas Scott, 5th year resident" he responded as he held out his hand for Brooke to shake.

"Brooke Davis, 3rd year resident" she said as she shook his hand – _spark._ She quickly pulled her hand away, not wanting to draw attention to how oddly good that felt. It was just a handshake, how could it feel so electric?

Lucas quirked an eyebrow, "Davis… Davis as in—" he said as he began to connect the dots.

"Yep." Brooke said with a click of her tongue and a wide smile. She really was a fan of freaking people out with whose daughter she was.

"Chief Davis' daughter… _man_. Guess I probably shouldn't chance my luck and ask you out for a drink then huh?" he continued to flirt. It appeared that his panic was momentary. It was kind of refreshing to have a doctor not freak and bolt out of fear for the Chief. He was a stern man and they certainly didn't want to upset him by upsetting his daughter. However, Lucas didn't seem to care. He didn't seem to want to back away.

"You can chance it if you want… but I will say no." Brooke replied, wanting to test this guy a little further.

"Why? You got a boyfriend?" he asked. He wouldn't be at all surprised if she said yes, but there was something in her eyes that was telling him that she didn't.

Brooke shrugged, "Something like that." She wasn't exactly sure what she would call Chase. They'd never put a label on it, but sex buddies seemed a little blasé.

"Something like that huh?" he repeated as Brooke nodded her head. "Ok… I can wait" he said confidently.

Brooke quirked an eyebrow, "You can wait? Wait for what?"

"Till 'something like that' becomes a 'no'. Something tells me you're worth it." He said.

Brooke looked at him, a little shocked by his determination, "You don't know a thing about me. How can you be so sure?"

"I've always believed that if someone is worth knowing, you can tell by their eyes." He said as he took another step forward. Brooke didn't even realise just how close they were standing and how odd this must look to people around them.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah… you have kind eyes Dr. Davis." Lucas said as he finally began to back away. "I look forward to finding out the story behind them."

Brooke was left standing there, completely stunned as Lucas walked away from her. This guy was a mystery and she was determined to find out more.

* * *

Before heading home, Brooke made her way round to her father's office and stood in the open door, watching as he worked at his desk. Brooke had a bit of a contentious relationship with her parents. She resented them growing up because they were never really around, but when she became a surgeon herself, she had a newfound respect for them and what they did. Her parents also became more bearable when they got a_ divorce _and her dad moved to Raleigh. They just seemed so much lighter and Brooke finally felt like she had two parents she could rely on.

"Have you been in your hospital at all today? It's like a mad house." Brooke told him from the doorway as Ted, looked up, took off his glasses and leaned back in his chair.

"Yeah, Kate told me one of the new guys tackled a patient to the floor." he told her.

Brooke scoffed, "Oh I saw that one. It was quite the performance." She said as she came in and sat opposite his desk. "They're running circles around us dad." Brooke confessed with a sigh. The Raleigh Hope residents were insanely talented and on the ball. "Even Rachel's worried."

"Everyone knows that Raleigh Med is a step above Raleigh Hope." Ted said confidently.

"Well it looks like everyone thought wrong. We're going to be ousted by them."

Ted sighed, "No you're not Brooke—"

"And I don't want you playing favourites because I'm your daughter—"

"You're staying because you're an exceptionally talented doctor and this hospital needs you." Ted assured her. Brooke was a real all rounder and it was anyone's guess what speciality she might go into.

"You have to say that, you're my dad…" she pouted.

Ted chuckled and held his hands up, "I don't have to say anything."

"Whatever… I think things are about to get really interesting..." Brooke confessed. On a surface level, the merging of two hospitals was going to be a taxing thing, but on a deeper level, the merger of the various personalities that were now a part of this hospital was going to be even more interesting.

"I think you're right Brookie. I have a list of a few people to look out for" he said as he handed her the file. She quickly opened it and scanned through it, reading the names.

Marvin McFadden

Bevin Prince

Peyton Sawyer

…

_Lucas Scott. _

"I'll be sure to keep an eye out too." Brooke said with a devious smirk. They were her competition after all. "I'm going to head out, don't stay here too late, ok?" she warned.

Ted chuckled, "Don't worry honey, I'm taking Kate out to dinner tonight."

"Have fun…" Brooke said through her teeth as she stood from the chair.

"Brooke, be nice—"

"Maybe you should try telling your wife that once in a while." She challenged as she walked around the desk and quickly kissed her dad's cheek. "Goodnight dad"

"Goodnight honey." He said as Brooke left the room.

* * *

After calling Chase, who informed her he was already at Tric working, Brooke made her way down to the bar that pretty much every surgeon in Raleigh frequented. It was the perfect wind down spot and the live music they often had was amazing. When she walked in, she quickly looked around her and greeted a few friends before spotting Chase behind the bar– talking to some girl with a wide smile on his face. She watched from afar as she giggled at something he was saying, before she said goodbye and walked away. Chase watched her as she left before looking up and spotting Brooke, his face lighting up immediately. She lightly waved at him before she walked over and allowed him to lean over the bar and kiss her cheek.

"Hey, who was that?" Brooke asked, trying to sound as unphased as possible.

"Oh, that's Lara, she's a regular here." he explained as they looked over at her and watched as she winked at Chase.

Brooke scoffed, "did she just _wink_ at you?" she asked, a little taken aback.

Chase looked flustered, "No, no, she was just—blinking."

"Looks like somebody has a crush…"

"No, I don't." Chase quickly defended.

Brooke quirked an eyebrow, "I was talking about_ Lara_ but you are doing _nothing _to help your case… you should ask her out. If you want to."

"Why would I want to?"

Brooke shrugged, "I don't know, just if you want to…" she said awkwardly. "It's not like we've ever really put a label on us…"

"We uh—we could. If you wanted to." Chase suggested with a gulp.

Brooke froze, unsure what to say. She never really expected Chase to ever want to put a label on this. He was a bit of a free spirit, but apparently there was something about Brooke that was keeping him grounded. Brooke looked up as the door opened and watched as Lucas walked in with a few of the other new residents. He soon spotted Brooke and gave her a light nod which she returned before turning back to Chase who was watching her with expectant eyes.

"Let's not jump into something we're not ready for, ok?" Brooke said as she lightly patted him on the arm before leaving the bar and walking over to Rachel and Nathan Lee, a resident in the year above them that Brooke and Rachel had quickly befriended and roped into being their third roommate.

"That looked weirdly intense" Rachel commented as Brooke took Nathan's drink and downed it as he looked on in frustration.

"He wants to put a label on us" Brooke explained as she motioned to the waitress for another drink.

"Ah, commitment-phobe Brookie strikes out _again_…" Nathan teased as Brooke glared at him deeply.

"I did not strike out, I just—" Brooke began as she spotted Lucas over Nathan's shoulder, talking with his friends. "Have you ever thought that maybe, when you meet someone, you know by looking in their eyes whether they're meant to be a big part of your life?"

Rachel and Nathan were silent and looked at Brooke like she had two heads. Brooke had been pondering Lucas' words all day and she had actually found herself _agreeing_ with him. She really cared about Chase, but when she looked in his eyes – she wasn't _excited._

"I just don't know if he makes me feel…_ the thing_." Brooke tried to explain, but Rachel and Nathan looked at her with even more confusion.

"The… _thing_?" Nathan questioned.

"Yeah. When your stomach curls and you feel like you can't breathe and your throat tightens and you know your eyes are just lighting up when you see this person?" Brooke explained. "I've only been in love once before…" she confessed quietly, not wanting to get into that story today. Besides, Rachel already knew all about Aiden "and I can barely put into words how he made me feel – so that's the closest I can get. When I meet the person I'm supposed to be with, I shouldn't have doubts."

Rachel sighed, "I'm not sure it's that easy Brooke. Nobody is perfect. People are going to let you down and you can doubt love, but it can still be_ real_." She said, trying to be a little more reasonable than Brooke was being. She was a little surprised to see her friend with her head so far in the clouds.

"Yeah, maybe I'm being unfair" Brooke conceded as she took one more glance over Nathan's shoulder at Lucas. How could she be so captivated by a man she'd had a 5-minute conversation with, in a busy hospital corridor? There was just something about his eyes. Brooke had a feeling he was about to become a huge part of her life – though she wasn't quite sure if it was in a good or a bad way. She figured only time would tell.

Rachel discreetly followed Brooke's eye line and realised the was staring at the new guy. She silently smirked at her friend's actions.

Things were about to get interesting.


	2. Bold Choices

**Hi everyone! Big thank you to everyone who showed an interest in this story, hopefully you'll enjoy what's to come! It's full of romance, heart break, love triangles, friendship and family. I don't want to spoil anything here, but I do want to say that all the details in this story may make sense in my head, but may not be translated on the page properly, so please feel free to ask questions as we go if you need clarification!**

**I also try to post a chapter a day, so make sure you stay tuned...**

**Brooke finds out a little bit about Lucas' family and also tries to take a step forward with Chase in this chapter... enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter Two – Bold Choices

A few weeks had passed since the merger and things were running relatively smoothly at Raleigh Med. The new surgeons were finally in their light blue scrubs and were blending nicely in with everyone around them. Brooke had also stopped panicking about losing her job. She figured if it was going to happen it would have happened by now.

Aside from her job, Brooke had been expertly avoiding Chase. They talked every now and again but there were no late-night sleepovers as Brooke didn't want to give him the wrong idea. She didn't want to give an impression that she was ready to jump into a relationship with him. She knew it was probably unfair, but she needed to sort her head out. She wanted to be clear before she made a move.

As for Lucas, they had barely said two words to each other since their encounter in the corridor. There were a few stolen glances, but it was all about their work right now. They were both trying to prove themselves worthy of being here and Lucas was certainly proving himself. He was the talk of the hospital and not just for his dazzling smile. He was insanely talented in all specialities and every attending was vying to have him on their service.

Brooke was still intensely curious about him. She only really knew that he was charming and good at his job. He seemed so _mysterious_, like he had something to hide. She also questioned why he was so unphased about her being the chief's daughter. Anybody she told that to tended to panic and begin sucking up to her as if she was a way to the top, but Lucas didn't. He didn't appear to care.

As she got ready for work the following morning, Rachel came bounding into the lounge.

"Brooke, you'll never guess who just got admitted into the hospital!" Rachel exclaimed with a wide smile.

Brooke frowned, "Who?" she asked. It must have been someone good if Rachel was happy that they were here… in a hospital… probably very sick…

"_Royal Scott_! Can you believe it?!"

Brooke's eyes widened, "Royal Scott? As in famous general surgeon Royal Scott? Whom the award is named after?"

Rachel nodded, "The very one. I have no idea what's wrong with him, an intestinal issue by the sound of things, but that isn't even the most interesting part of this story."

"You mean to tell me that there's something more interesting than a surgical legend being brought here?" Brooke questioned. How could this story get anymore interest—wait. _Scott._ Royal Scott._ Lucas_ Scott. "Wait…" Brooke said as she caught on and Rachel nodded her head.

"Wonder boy is Royal Scott's _grandson_." Rachel confirmed. "He sure kept that one quiet."

"He probably didn't want special treatment—" Brooke began, suddenly feeling sorry for Lucas. Now that this was out in the open, everybody would probably be wanting favours from him and she knew all too well how horrible it was to feel like people didn't value you, but only valued your family.

"Oh _please_, he should be milking this for all it's worth. With the name Scott, he gets a free pass to whatever job he wants, he's hit the jackpot." Rachel said just as she was paged. "I gotta run, but come find me if you hear anymore about this!" she requested as Rachel bolted down the hallway.

Brooke paused for a second before she finished putting her scrubs on. It appeared that she was right in thinking there was a lot more to this guy than met the eye. She turned to leave the locker room, just as someone decided was a good time to open the cupboard next to her and she smacked her head right off it.

"_Shit_" she grumbled as she rubbed her head and the doctor who hit her looked sheepishly at her.

She heard a chuckle from the door to the lounge and she looked up to see Lucas standing there. "Nice…" he teased.

Brooke glared at him before she felt her cheeks turning a horrible shade of pink. How embarrassing. She'd barely spoken to the guy and _this_ is the next interaction they have. Lucas soon disappeared and Brooke sighed. This was going to be a _long_ day.

* * *

After completing her rounds, Brooke made her way to the general surgery wing of the hospital. On a shallow note, she wanted to just get a glimpse at the famous Royal Scott, but she was really going there on the hopes she might bump into Lucas. This was the perfect opportunity to talk to him and find out a little bit more.

As she turned the corner, she spotted him standing outside the room, looking in the window as Royal spoke with his surgeons, one of them being Chief Davis. Lucas looked a little lost and her heart went out to him. She knew what it was like to have a big name and big legacy on her shoulders. She wasn't sure how she wanted to approach this, but she figured a little bit of humour and light-heartedness would go a long way.

"Well, well, well…" she said as she approached him, and Lucas turned to look at her. "If it isn't Royal Scott's grandson..." She teased as Lucas picked up on her tone and playfully rolled his eyes.

"Not you too Davis…" he replied. He'd clearly been getting that a lot today.

"You sure kept that one quiet from everyone."

Lucas shrugged, "I didn't think it was necessary for everyone to know…" he replied as Brooke shrugged understandingly. She didn't exactly shout from the roof tops that she was the chief's daughter. "How's your head?"

Brooke scoffed as they both turned to look in the window at Royal, "Better. How's your pride?"

"Closely linked to Royal Scott's… I'd much rather it was my own." He confessed.

"It can be if you work for it." Brooke advised, speaking from experience of course. She knew she had to find her own voice in the surgical world if she was ever going to make it.

"You know, he's probably giving them the speech right now." He said as he nodded towards Royal as he animatedly talked to Ted and his general surgeon. Brooke smirked. Of course her dad was in there sucking up to Royal Scott.

"What speech?" Brooke asked.

"About the wonders of medicine. How as surgeons we're meant to push boundaries and do what no one has ever done before." Lucas rhymed off unenthusiastically, as if he'd already heard it a hundred times.

"Sounds motivating."

"It's _cheesy_." He responded without a beat. He hated the speech, it's all he ever heard. "If you hear it enough times at your grandparent's dinner table you can't help but want to be a surgeon when you grow up."

Brooke nodded; "I get that. My grandfather is a surgeon in Connecticut, and he let me sew up my brother's arm at the dinner table when I was 10." She recalled. It would go down as one of the most awesome things she had ever done, but it's all she ever had with her grandfather. Medicine and judgy comments.

Lucas chuckled; "Quite the families we've got."

"Oh yeah." Brooke replied with a little laugh, just as Ted came out of the room.

"Hey honey" Ted greeted; "I just need to check up on a few things and then we'll meet for lunch yeah?"

Brooke nodded; "Yeah, sounds good dad."

"Alright. Dr. Scott" Ted greeted Lucas who gave him a tight-lipped smile before Ted walked away.

Lucas turned to Brooke, "_Dad_, huh?" he teased.

Brooke nudged him, "Shut up… you should have seen how the other residents used to treat me. As soon as they found out who were my parents were, I became a social _pariah_. Like I was too good for them. In high school and college it was the opposite, everybody wanted to be your friend. Normally with bad intentions."

"I get that. Everyone here has been trying to meet him and I just—I _hate_ it when people know I'm related to him. The way they treat me, the way they watch me. I know the name has helped but he is not easy. _Brilliant_, but really not easy to be related to."

Before Brooke could reply, they heard beeping from Royal's room and they both rushed in to see what was going on.

"Are you alright? What's happening?" Lucas said as he quickly looked at his stats.

"Ah, good, that was quick." Royal said as he put his book down. "We never got to finish our conversation earlier—"

"You duped your monitor so we could talk? _Seriously_?" Lucas asked in disbelief.

"… Who is that?" Royal asked as he pointed to a sheepish looking Brooke at the end of the bed.

"What?" Lucas asked before turning and seeing Brooke, forgetting that she had been with him. He felt an overwhelming sense of calm seeing her standing there. For a brief second, he acknowledged in his head how strange that was—he barely knew her, yet he felt like he'd known her forever. "This is Dr. Brooke Davis." Lucas explained.

"Any relation to the Chief?" he asked as Brooke nodded her head.

"My dad" she confirmed.

"Ah, pleasure to meet you young lady, come in." Royal insisted as Brooke slowly walked in and shook Royal's hand. He was clearly a fan of other surgical legacies.

"It's very nice to meet you Dr. Scott." Brooke said.

"It's nice to see that your father's surgical prowess is being passed down through the generations." He said proudly.

"Grandpa loves a dynasty" Lucas remarked.

"Let me ask you a question Dr. Davis." He said, before looking at Lucas while he spoke; "If a spot was being held for you to study at the greatest hospital in this country would you turn it down?" he asked forcefully.

Brooke shifted awkwardly; "Uh – I—"

"Yeah, he saved a spot for me at Mass Gen ever since I graduated. Which is the _only_ reason he came to visit, to try and convince me to take it, _again_." Lucas interrupted.

"It is an incredibly opportunity." Royal reminded him.

"An opportunity I don't want, I don't want to work for you! I don't want your help, I don't want your— look, that's enough—" Lucas said, trying to calm himself down before he said something his grandfather would make him regret.

"No!" Royal shouted as Brooke wished she was _anywhere_ but in that room right now. "I decide when I've said enough. You may think I'm arrogant and overbearing, you've made that very clear, and maybe I am, but I can't— can't-"

Suddenly, Royal was struggling to breathe, and his monitors were beeping erratically. He fell into V-Fib and Lucas quickly rushed to save him.

* * *

After Royal was rushed into surgery, Brooke made herself scarce and decided to give Lucas some space. Besides, she did have a job to do anyway. She couldn't sit around sharing sob stories about their overbearing relatives and daunting family legacies. She still worried about him for the rest of the day, however. She saw his face when Royal started going into V-Fib. He looked guilty and ashamed. Ashamed that he'd gotten Royal so worked up.

Before doing her final rounds, Brooke made her way back round to the waiting area to see how Royal's surgery went. More than that, however, she wanted to see if Lucas was ok. She found him standing in the waiting area, just as Royal's surgeon walked away from him and she made her way over.

"Hey…" she greeted cautiously, unsure what sort of news awaited her.

"Hey." He replied, giving her a soft smile. "so, he's fine. He did have an allergic reaction in there however… to the sutures _he_ suggested they use."

Brooke raised her eyebrows; "So it was his fault."

"Yeah. It's awesome, I wish they would publish _that _story." He said with an eyeroll.

"Yeah. The famous grandfather, the legacies he's trying to force on you. You didn't ask for any of it. You're putting up walls and you're avoiding him and you don't want to introduce him to your friends. I get it. But… if my grandfather was up there in a room right now, I would want to go see him and make things right. Despite him being difficult, you can still learn from him." Brooke encouraged.

Lucas nodded and looked at his feet; "Yeah. Maybe." He then looked up at met Brooke's eyes; "You're pretty wise Davis."

Brooke scoffed; "it's one of the rather _odd _trademarks of my personality. I'm an 80-year-old woman on the inside."

Lucas chuckled; "Well I am glad of it. I really needed 80-year-old woman advice today." He said as Brooke nodded her head softly, unsure what to say. "Can I give you some advice?"

"Sure" Brooke said, wondering where this was going.

"If coming from a family like mine has taught me anything it's to always stand by your convictions. They can try and push you around, they can try and pull you into their mind frame—but they can't take your values. So make bold choices. Don't shy away from them. Life is too short."

Again, Brooke was unsure what to say, so she just nodded her head.

"Maybe one of those bold choices would be giving into that bar tender." Lucas suggested as Brooke looked at him stunned.

"How do you—"

"I notice things" he said with a shrug. Brooke let out a little laugh and crossed her arms over her chest. He noticed things. That meant he noticed _her_. That meant he was _watching_ her last night.

"What happened to chancing _your _luck and asking me out?" Brooke challenged as she took a step closer towards him.

Lucas smirked, "Oh I think I'll chance my luck… _someday_. But when I do? I want to be sure that there is no one else you could be thinking about other than me. I'll see you tomorrow Dr. Davis." He said as he manoeuvred past her and over to Peyton Sawyer who was watching them from beside the elevator.

"What are you doing with Davis?" Peyton asked as she hit the button so they could leave.

"Don't worry about it Sawyer."

Peyton scoffed, "You're playing with_ fire_." She didn't really know the girl, but she knew enough to try and protect her friend from her. She was the chief's daughter after all. If he screwed around with her, it could only end badly.

Lucas smirked, "Something tells me the burns will be worth it."

* * *

Brooke wasn't quite sure why, but she felt that Lucas had a point. So, she found herself going to Tric that night to talk to Chase. She wasn't really sure what she was going to say when she got there, but she was hoping it would come to her in the moment. All she knew was that she felt like she was wasting time wondering when she should be trying to find her moment of happiness.

She soon spotted Chase wiping the bar and suddenly stormed over to him. When he spotted her, he smiled brightly and she came round the bar to stand beside him.

"Hey—" he began to greet, but Brooke pulled his face down towards his and kissed him hard. "Wow…" he said he she pulled back. "What was that for?"

"I'm making a bold choice." Brooke said, repeating Lucas words to a still confused Chase.

"A bold choice?"

"My dad is hosting this gala thing at the weekend and I would love it if you could come with me." Brooke told him with a soft smile.

"… really?" he asked, his voice hopeful that this wasn't some sort of joke.

Brooke nodded and giggled, "Really. I mean it will probably be pretty boring, it's just going to be a bunch of surgeons schmoozing all night but—it's my world and I would like you to be a part of it."

Chase nodded his head, "Ok. It's a date."

"Great." Brooke said quietly. "When are you finished for the night?"

"About an hour" Chase told her.

Brooke quirked an eyebrow, "Well, I will be waiting patiently and most likely _naked_ in my bed for you…" she teased before turning away and deliberately swaying her hips to drive him crazy.

Chase bit his bottom lip in anticipation. The next hour could not go by fast enough.

* * *

Brooke soon arrived home to the 5-bed house she shared with Rachel and Nathan. The house had belonged to her grandparents and when they passed away, they left it to Brooke in their will. She gladly took the house on and moved her two best friends in. It was a great house for a few young professionals, especially when they did it up a little bit. She was wondering, however, when she would be considered too old to be having roommates. They were in their late 20s after all.

When she walked through the hallway and into the living room, Brooke found Rachel standing looking at various dresses that lay across the sofa.

"There you are" Rachel said as she pulled her friend further into the room. "Where you been?"

"Oh just down at Tric seeing Chase" Brooke replied.

Rachel looked surprised, "You and Chase? You're still going there?"

"Uh, yeah…" Brooke said, still sounding a little uncertain. "Someone told me I should take more risks and stand by them."

Rachel nodded slowly, "Alrighty then… as long as you're happy." She said, hoping that Brooke knew what she was doing.

"What's with all the dresses?"

"I'm just trying to pick out one for the gala this weekend." Rachel told her. Ted Davis threw a hospital gala every year to try and entice investors to the hospital. Normally is was a rousing success and nobody doubted this year would be any different.

"The black one." Brooke told her as Rachel held the dress up to her body.

"I think you're right. You should go red, it's your colour." She replied as she handed Brooke the dress. "So, how much to you think daddy dearest is going to milk the fact that they saved Royal Scott's life to the investors?"

Brooke scoffed, "He is going to go to_ town_ on that one. Can't say that I blame him."

"He'll probably try and use the fact that he has a Scott training in his residency programme too." Rachel added.

"I hope not. Lucas doesn't really like the attention. He just wants to get by on his own laurels." Brooke told her.

Rachel eyed her quizzically, "And how would you know that?"

"… we talked." Brooke said bluntly. She wasn't sure how to even begin explaining this weird vibe she had going on with Lucas.

"You _talked_? Right…" Rachel said with a click of her tongue. Brooke picked up that she clearly had some feelings about the whole thing.

"Something on your mind Rach?"

"Oh it's nothing… I just noticed you two giving each other googly eyes for the past few weeks that's all. I'm glad you've finally moved beyond that stage and can actually talk to one another." Rachel teased.

"We were not giving each other_ googly_ eyes." Brooke protested.

Rachel held up her hands, "I'm only telling you what I saw and hell – I don't blame either of you. You're both stupidly hot, I would be worried if you weren't giving each other googly eyes."

"Rachel, we are two professional adults, working together, there are no googly eyes, just _normal_ eyes." She said awkwardly.

"She doth protesteth too much…" Rachel taunted. "Honey, I'm not judging you, I think you'd be wise to jump the man's bones. Surgeons are so tightly strung, we always need a release and when we do release - it is _explosive_. Two surgeons together… my god, it's going to be _good_."

"Rachel!" Brooke scolded with a little laugh as her friend playfully rolled her eyes.

"You know I'm right Davis… Chase can only do so much for you." Rachel told her as Brooke remained quiet. "I guess time will tell huh?"

"Yeah, time will tell we're two colleagues who get along well."

"Whatever you say Brookie…"

* * *

That weekend, Lucas stood at the bar of the hospital's gala with Peyton, looking all around him. He didn't dare admit that he had been looking for Brooke, but it was true. He was normally so smooth and subtle, but there was something about this girl that was making him lose his head a little bit.

"Why are you so jittery?" Peyton asked as Lucas shook his head.

"I'm not jittery."

Peyton laughed, "Yes you are. Lucas, I've known you for 4 years, I've seen you in some pretty stressful surgical situations, but I've never seen you so on edge. What's your deal?"

"Nothing, Sawyer." He said firmly. Suddenly, he stood up a lot straighter and his face seemed to light up that little bit more. Peyton followed his eyeline to the door as realised just why he was so bright all of a sudden. Brooke had just walked through the door in a stunning red dress, her hair loosely pulled back with a few strands falling down her face. She also had Chase on her arm and once Lucas noticed that, he looked down at his feet.

"Well, this is going to be interesting…" Peyton mumbled as she took a sip from her glass.

* * *

Half an hour later, Lucas was still carefully watching Brooke as she worked the room. She had known a number of these investors for years, a lot of them where friends of her father's from when she was little. Lucas loved how effortlessly she talked with people. She was just full of so much light and her smile was captivating. Brooke alone could easily get their cheque books out.

Peyton soon joined Lucas again and realised he was staring straight at her.

"Dude, quit staring at her." Peyton told him as Lucas looked at her with a frown.

"What?"

"Quit staring at Brooke, you're not being as subtle as you think and it's creepy." She said with a scoff.

Lucas didn't really care what Peyton thought. He looked back over at Brooke, his intrigue only growing by the minute. He just felt like he had to know more. He was like a moth drawn to a flame. He couldn't quite explain how she was making him feel, despite only knowing her for a short time.

"You know – I'm going to marry her one day." Lucas announced confidently.

Peyton choked on her drink, "_What?!_"

"_However long it takes_." Lucas added with a smile before he handed Peyton a napkin and made her way over to Brooke before she was whisked away by another investor. "Hey Davis."

"Scott... How's it going?" she asked with a smile as he handed her a drink which she gratefully accepted.

"Good… I was wondering though – how is that we work together but I rarely see you in the hospital?"

"I guess I'm just so busy actually doing my job…" she teased.

_"Funny_" he said as he playfully flicked her wrist.

"Why do you want to see me anyway?"

"I like you Davis. I know I said I would be waiting, but that doesn't mean I don't want to see you and talk to you." He replied as Brooke eyed him curiously.

"You know, I never asked but – why me? What makes me so special?" she asked. She hadn't quite come to terms about why he was being so persistent and patient.

"There's just something about you Brooke. I know it probably sounds crazy but—I feel like you're meant to be a huge part of my life. I can't put my finger on why." Lucas said sincerely as Brooke eyed him curiously.

"Does sound pretty crazy…" she replied quietly, but she knew exactly what he meant.

"So… you brought the bar tender." He observed as he nodded towards Chase who was talking up a storm to some girls. "He's cute." He teased. He wasn't the sort of person to try and tear down another relationship just for his own gain. If Brooke was going to fall for him, he wanted it to be on her own terms.

Brooke laughed, "Chase is a good guy and I am making more bold choices" she said confidently.

Lucas smiled, "I'm glad. You know, I don't know if I ever thanked you for checking in on me when my grandfather was in the hospital—"

"Oh no, you don't have to thank me—"

"No, I do. Not many people came round because they cared about how I was doing. You are one of a kind Davis."

Brooke smirked. "So I'm told… if you ever need to talk about anything, you know where to find me."

"Yeah apparently we work together or something, not that I ever see you…" Lucas teased again.

"Well then I guess we should make a habit of bumping into each other a little more." Brooke replied as she delicately touched his arm – an action that didn't go unnoticed by Chase who was now watching the pair. "I'll see you around Lucas" she said before walking away.

Brooke soon found Chase at the bar looking pretty grouchy and frowned. "What's the matter?" she asked.

"Who was that guy you were talking to?"

"Oh that's Lucas, we work together."

"Looked a little friendlier than two colleagues talking…" he grumbled as he downed a shot.

"Ok, first of all, you are not getting drunk at my father's gala" she said as she took his next shot off him and handed it to the bar tender. "Second of all, we are friends, I've only known the guy a few weeks and I can talk to whoever I like."

"Right, cause we never put a label on this" he said as he motioned between them.

Brooke glared deeply, "even if we did put a label on it, I could still talk to whoever I wanted to—"

"What was it Rachel once said about surgeons? They always gravitate to one another. They're so intense that they always find someone to match that intensity. Other wise they'll flounder in all that they do." Chase remarked as Brooke looked at him completely stunned. "Why am I here Brooke?"

"Because I want you to be."

"Look around you Brooke!" Chase said, a little more forcefully than intended. "I don't fit in here. 3 people have come up to me and asked me about my 'speciality' and when I told them that I wasn't a doctor, they quickly walked away. You're a special breed of human that seem to only accept like-minded people."

"You are being really unfair Chase—"

"No, I'm being honest. I really like you Brooke. I like you so much I could easily see myself falling in love with you. I think I already might be. But I'm not in the business of feeling inferior to _anyone_." He said arrogantly.

Brooke shook her head and rolled her eyes. The male ego could be so fragile when it wanted to be, and she wasn't about to take the blame for it.

"I love what I do. I get to make a difference in so many people's lives and that isn't something that I should apologise to you for. That is something that I should be able to talk to you about and that you should be proud of me for. I can't be having a constant battle with you because you don't like feeling inferior to me, even though I never once thought of you in that way!" Brooke reasoned.

"Well then I guess we should just count our losses, huh?" Chase asked as Brooke looked to her feet. "It's probably for the best. You've known this new guy for a few weeks and already you're looking at him in a way you've never looked at me."

"Chase—"

"Goodnight Brooke." He said, before swiftly leaving the building.

Brooke quickly pinched the bridge of her nose, not quite believing that her attempts to be bold had backfired so dramatically. Rachel walked over to her with a frown on her face.

"What happened?"

"I am swearing off men for the foreseeable future." Brooke said between her teeth.

"Let me guess – he couldn't handle the fact that you were an accomplished professional and his fragile ego took another major hit?"

"Bullseye."

Rachel rolled her eyes, "Tale as old as time." She'd had her fair share of men who felt the exact same. This was another reason why surgeons gravitated towards each other. They got the job. They respected each other's professional lives. "Listen, there was something I wanted to talk to you about"

"What's up?"

"Well, I was thinking… we have two empty rooms in that big old house of yours and I think it would be great to fill them." Rachel said with a smile.

Brooke narrowed her eyes, "Fill them with what?"

"Two new roommates of course!" she said, trying to make this sound as exciting as possible.

Brooke groaned, "Rachel, we do not need two new roommates."

"Oh come on, it'll be fun! Besides, Nate really needs some male energy in the house, he's starting to lose his mind with us." Rachel reasoned. Nathan really did put up with a lot from the two of them. "I've already found two great people in need of an escape from crummy apartments. They are good people, surgeons, keeping with our pack" she teased as Brooke scoffed. "Plus, that's more rent for you to finish paying off that mortgage."

Brooke thought about it for a moment. She wasn't exactly poor. Her mother had come from old money so she had a pretty hefty trust fund. She always felt guilty about touching it and only did so in emergencies. She much preferred just living normally off her own pay cheque, so the money to finish paying off her grandparent's mortgage wouldn't be such a bad thing. Besides, maybe Rachel was right. More roommates could be fun. When was she ever going to get to live like this again? Soon enough they would all go out and find their own places to live and what not.

"… fine. They can move in." Brooke agreed as Rachel clapped gleefully. "Who is it anyway?"

"Peyton and Lucas."

"…_ Peyton and Lucas_? Peyton Sawyer and Lucas Scott?" Brooke asked as she felt her breath catch in her throat.

"Yep." Rachel said with a playful smirk.

_"Rachel!_" Brooke said swatting her arm. "What kind of game are you playing?"

"No game. Just being hospitable to our new colleagues." She said with a shrug. "See you at home roomie!" she said, running off before Brooke could kick up any more of a fuss.

Brooke sighed and took a minute to compose herself before she began working the room again.

_Boy was this going to be fun._

* * *

**Don't forget to review...**


	3. The Friendzone

**Thank you for all your reviews! It's great seeing people take an interest in this story. I probably should warn you though... I'm a sucker for a bit of heartbreak, so this story will definitely not be smooth sailing and you'll all hate me at certain points, and you'll hate****_ Lucas_**** at certain points, but remember - it's always darkest before the dawn ;)**

**For now, Brooke struggles with her new roommates and tells Lucas all about her first love... enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter Three – The Friendzone

Monday morning soon rolled around and Brooke sleepily walked through the hallway towards the bathroom to begin getting ready for the day. Peyton and Lucas had moved in the previous day, so things had been pretty chaotic, but Brooke managed to stay out of the way and let them do their thing. She wasn't really in much of a mood for awkward glances with Lucas, especially considering Chase had lost his head at the gala and dumped her. She made Rachel swear to keep her away from men for the time being. She was just sick of being let down. She also figured she would be saving herself worse heart break down the line. She knew all too well what that was like.

Brooke let out a deep yawn as she approached the bathroom door. She froze mid yawn at the scene she was greeted with. She saw Peyton brushing her hair, Nathan brushing his teeth, Rachel shaving her legs and Lucas in the shower.

"Are you kidding me?" Brooke asked as she ran a hand through her hair. All she wanted was 5 minutes in the bathroom but there was nowhere that wasn't a shared space right now. It was basically a frat house.

"Hey, Brooke" she heard from the shower as Lucas appeared from behind the curtain. She stared at his chiselled chest for a little too long, as Lucas smirked, it not going unnoticed by him. "Could you hand me my towel?" he asked as Brooke snapped out of her daydream, frowned, and chucked it at him.

"This isn't normal. Or fair." She remarked as she snatched her toothbrush from the pot and stormed out of the room and downstairs to use the tiny bathroom under the stairs.

The other four adults all looked at each other and shrugged before they continued what they were doing. This living situation was clearly going to take some getting used to.

* * *

"Rachel, we need to talk about this living situation." Brooke began as she caught up with her in the hallway of the hospital.

"I know the bathroom situation was a little crazy this morning, but we'll come up with a schedule! Better yet, let's build another bathroom, how awesome would an ensuite in your room be?"

"Rachel, why are you pushing so hard for this?! If it's about this whole Lucas thing, you can give it up."

"How many times do I have to tell you that I just wanted to help two new colleagues out?" Rachel said as they stopped and Rachel crossed her arms in defiance.

"Peyton suggested we get a chore wheel this morning." Brooke told her. "We're not 5 years old!"

"Suck. It. Up." Rachel told her before bouncing away.

Brooke let out a large sigh just as she felt a shoulder knock into hers and barge past.

"Lucas?" she asked, seeing that he was clearly in an angry state.

"Not now Brooke."

"But—"

"I said not now!" he exclaimed before storming forward just as Ted walked up beside Brooke.

"What the hell just happened?" Brooke asked, completely stunned by his outburst.

"Multi-car pileup, Dr. Scott just saved a little boy's life… we're all a little unsure why this is his response." Ted explained as Brooke nodded her head.

"Strange..." Brooke mumbled. Lucas normally had such a cool head on him. She'd seen him deal with the death of a patient before and his reaction was never this extreme. Why was he responding to saving a little boy like he was?

"Yeah… I do come bearing some good news though" Ted said as Brooke turned to look at him.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. I just got word from the FDA – I got the grant for my research proposal." Ted said with a smile.

Brooke beamed, "Dad, that's amazing! Congratulations" she said as she quickly hugged him. She knew how hard her father had been working on his research as well as trying to manage a hospital, so this was an amazing reward for all his hard work. He could really start making a difference now.

"Thanks Brookie. We're going for celebratory drinks after work if you're free."

Brooke nodded, "Yeah, sounds good."

"Great, and uh—keep an eye on Scott for me, would you?" Ted asked as Brooke gulped and nodded her head as Ted walked away. Clearly there was something going on with Lucas that he didn't care to admit.

* * *

Lucas managed to conveniently avoid speaking to anyone else for the rest of the day. Brooke couldn't find him anywhere. When someone told her he was in the lab, she went there to find someone telling her he was in the OR, and there another person told her he was in the ER, but it was no use. Whatever he was doing, he clearly didn't want to be found.

Brooke figured the best place she could talk to him would be at home. When she got there, following drinks with Ted, Kate and a few of their friends, Nathan told her Lucas came in and went straight to bed without eating or saying a word. So, she nodded and went to bed herself. Just as she was settling down for the night, she heard shouting coming from the room next to hers – Lucas' room. She paused for a second and listened, before the shouting started again.

"_Greg! Greg!" _she heard the voice shout.

She carefully got out of bed and cautiously opened Lucas' door, to see him lying in a cold sweat, rummaging around the bed, panting, shouting for this 'Greg' person.

"Lucas, Lucas! Hey! Wake up!" she shouted as he stopped shouting and appeared to wake up. "You're having a nightmare, maybe you should take something—" Brooke said, but Lucas cut her off.

"Greg? Where's Greg? Greg!" he shouted as Brooke realised he wasn't actually awake.

"Hey, hey! Lucas! It's Brooke, come on, wake up!" she said as he finally snapped out of it and looked at her.

He shook his head and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before getting out of bed. He ignored Brooke standing there, lifted a sweater and stormed out the door, "I need a drink."

Brooke followed Lucas out of the room just as Rachel arrived at the top of the stairs.

"Hey—wow…" she said as Lucas pushed past her. "What's his deal?"

"I have no idea." Brooke said as she went downstairs to talk to him. She soon found him in the kitchen standing by the sink while he got himself a drink of water.

"Hey" she greeted as she approached him, immediately seeing that he wasn't in much of a mood to talk. When he didn't reply, Brooke decided to just continue anyway. "You know last week at the gala we said that if we ever needed to talk, we would be there for each other?" she asked.

Lucas shrugged; "What about it?"

"I'm just saying, if you want to talk to someone—I'm here. I'm not foreign to sleep problems myself. When my parents got a divorce I didn't sleep for weeks—" she said, laughing awkwardly, thinking about how ridiculous she must sound right now. She had no idea why it affected her so much, but it did.

Lucas finally turned to look at her; "I don't have any problems Brooke. I just pulled half of a car out of a boy and he lived. He's going to live to be stupid another day because of me. His parents aren't going to lose everything because of me. I call that a pretty great night. So what is _your _problem?" he replied before slamming his glass down on the counter and going back upstairs, leaving Brooke even more confused than before.

* * *

Brooke had decided when she woke up the next morning that it wasn't worth her time trying to get through to Lucas, especially when he was going to be so hostile. She scoffed at herself for caring so much about a guy she barely knew, but she couldn't help it. He was a curiosity to her, and she was desperate to know more.

After a long shift at work, she made her way home feeling a little defeated about the whole thing. She tried to watch a cheesy film, but she just couldn't concentrate. Between everything that had gone down with Chase and her concern for Lucas there wasn't much else she could think about.

She did have a degree of understanding for Lucas' actions, however. She understood not wanting to discuss problems. She was the queen of avoidance. She never really had anyone to talk to about her problems growing up. Her parents were always at work, her brother was always off with his friends, her friends were too busy talking about their own problems. Now it had developed into an unhealthy habit of just staying silent. She had barely spoken to anyone about Chase. Anytime Rachel or Nathan asked, she swiftly moved the subject on.

Despite her own actions, however, she also knew how beneficial it was to talk to someone she trusted, whether it was mom or dad, Rachel or Nathan, even Kate. She figured Lucas deserved to have someone like that too.

After finishing her movie halfway through, she made her way into the bathroom and found Lucas brushing his teeth. She found it refreshing that there was only one other person in the bathroom rather than _four_.

"Hi" she greeted as she walked over to the sink and lifted her own toothbrush.

"Hi… I'm surprised you're still talking to me, I was kind of a dick yesterday." Lucas said sheepishly as Brooke looked at him, not expecting his change in attitude.

"It's ok, I—I understand why you didn't want to talk. I rarely want to talk so I can't be mad at you for that."

"You should be mad at me because you were kind and I threw it back in your face." He said as he spit in the sink and rinsed his mouth and toothbrush before continuing. "My patient crashed his car because he was reckless, and he lived but his brother died. He's going to feel pretty awful that he lived, and his brother died." He explained as Brooke started to make sense of the whole thing "That every time he feels glad to be alive, he'll hate himself for it. He won't want to talk about it, but—" he said as he dropped his sentence, not sure what to say next. "When I was 16, I was in a car accident with my best friend Greg. It wasn't my fault, someone crashed into us but – he died and I lived. He offered to drive and I said no I could do it… but if he had have been the one driving… he would have lived and I can't help but feel guilty about that."

Brooke looked at him through the reflection in the mirror, not really know what to say. "Lucas, I – I'm so sorry." She responded quietly as she rested her hand on his arm. "We're always going to lose patients. It's inevitable. No matter how hard we try, we can't save everyone and sometimes those patients are going to hit a little too close to home because the human experience really doesn't vary from person to person. We all have joy, laughter, pain, tears… we just have to make sure that we surround ourselves with the people who not only make us laugh, but also hold us together when we feel like we're being torn apart."

"That's a pretty good outlook to have." Lucas replied. "Sounds like you're speaking from experience."

Brooke looked to her feet and gulped, "It's kind of freaky how much we have in common." She began cryptically. She rarely shared this part of her life with anyone. The only people in her life that knew about it were her parents, her brother, her godfather and Rachel. It was a part of her life that she kept hidden in order to protect her already fractured heart.

"How do you mean?"

"I have only ever loved one person in my life. I was 18, his name was Aiden. We met in high school and in a lot of ways he was the complete opposite of me" She said with a little laugh. "He grew up in LA and he loved to surf and he didn't _not_ care about school, it just wasn't high on his list of priorities, whereas I'm much more of a sit by the ocean and sunbathe kind of girl and I worked my butt off in high school… despite that, he was the warmest and funniest and sweetest guy on the planet. He just made me feel so_ beyond _loved." She recalled fondly. He was always going out of his way for her. He would have done anything she asked. "Anyway… one night a few weeks before we graduated, Aiden was in a car accident. He was hit by a drunk driver while he was taking his pregnant sister to the hospital. He uh—he sustained some pretty bad head injuries and he died in surgery."

Lucas turned to look at Brooke for real, rather than just at her reflection in the mirror. He really didn't know what to say, so he just gulped and said "Brooke, I—"

"It's probably the worst thing that has ever happened to me and it kind of put me off guys for a long time. I wouldn't say I'm still completely open to relationship now, almost 10 years later." Brooke said with an awkward laugh. She swore to herself that she wouldn't dive into something unless she knew it was the real thing, which was why she was so hesitant with Chase. Right now, she was standing by those beliefs because when she did move forward with him, it was thrown back in her face. "His death inspired me to pursue neuro as well. So I could maybe save other people's first loves. I did get to talk to him before he went in for surgery and he told me that I was made to do great things… so I refuse to do anything less than great. I refuse to let anyone try and demean what I do."

"Your strength is pretty incredible" Lucas said, truly in awe of Brooke and her drive to make true of her boyfriend's beliefs. He wasn't sure he had ever met anyone with such a wonderful life outlook. It made his heartbeat just that little bit faster.

Brooke shook her head, "I certainly do not claim to have it all figured out. I am a work in progress. The advice I just gave you - it's not a remedy for all we're going to go through in life, but it's certainly a start."

Lucas smirked, "There's that wise 80-year-old coming out again. I'm very grateful for her right about now."

Brooke yawned as she replied "She never went away."

"Did you not get much sleep last night?" he asked with a worried frown.

"Uh, no, not really. But it's not an anomaly for me." She replied. Surgeons were some of the most unrested people on the planet. Thank god for caffeine.

"You should take something for that…" he taunted, just like she had yesterday.

"Oh really?" she said as she shoved him away while he laughed.

"I never said thank you for letting Peyton and I invade your house." Lucas said as Brooke finally got round to brushing her teeth.

"It's ok" Brooke said with a mouth full of toothpaste. "It's nice having a full house. My house growing up as always so empty with my parents at work and my brother out doing god knows what with god knows who."

"You have a brother?" Lucas inquired.

Brooke nodded, "Two actually. My older brother Harrison, though he gets Harry, is a cardiothoracic surgeon in New York. Works at the same hospital as my mom."

"Wow, keeping it in the family huh?"

Brooke laughed, "Yeah, says you _Scott_" he reminded him.

"Touche…"

"And my little brother Matty is 17." She added. She loved her brothers dearly, but like most brothers, they really drove her insane over the years. "Do you have any siblings?"

"Yeah, I have a little sister, Lily. My mom remarried when I was around 10 and she and my step-dad Keith had Lily a year later. She's just started college." Lucas explained with a proud smile. "It's a little bit of a complicated family story... my step-dad Keith is actually my dad's brother but uh- he was more of a dad to me than Dan ever was." he explained as Brooke nodded her head.

"Well, Lily is more than welcome to come and stay here any time if she fancies visiting her big brother" Brooke offered.

Lucas smiled, "I'll let her know… I should get to bed" he said as Brooke finished with her teeth and turned to look at him, their chests almost touching.

"Right… bed." Brooke agreed as they looked at each other intensely.

"No Chase tonight?"

"Long story but my bold move didn't quite work out how I'd anticipated… he was a keen example of me not letting boys demean my accomplishments."

Lucas frowned, hating that someone made Brooke feel that way. "I'm sorry"

Brooke smirked, "no you're not."

"I'm not?"

"No… cause you're just one step away from taking that chance." She reminded him. "Goodnight Lucas" Brooke said in a teasing whisper before leaving a longing Lucas in the bathroom.

When she got back into her room, she sat on the edge of her bed and lifted out an old phone she had when she was in high school. She remembered when the moved in, Rachel had asked her why she bothered to keep this ratty old thing and the answer was simple. After Brooke made her way home from the hospital following Aiden's death, she had looked at her phone and saw she had a voicemail from him. When she finally plucked up the courage to listen to it a few days later, she knew it was never something she wanted to erase. She wanted to be able to listen to it in her most vulnerable moments- like right now.

"_Brooke! Hey, it's me, of course you knew it was me, there's this thing called caller I.D and you're bound to know my voice by now…"_ Aiden rambled in the phone as Brooke covered her mouth to hold back her tears. _"Anyway, Mia's about to have her baby and it's amazing and so exciting and I just—I can't wait to do this with you. I'm not saying right now, but some day. I want all of this with you. A life together, a family. After you become a world class surgeon of course, or during because you could do both, you're Brooke freakin' Davis, you're like a superhero. Anyway, I should stop rambling, I need to drive Mia to the hospital but uh… I love you Brooke Penelope Davis. Always have always will. I'll see you soon"_

Brooke put the phone back in her drawer before she lay back down on her bed. She wondered if she could ever feel that way again about someone. It just didn't seem possible, but lately she had the strangest feeling of hope in the pit of her stomach – and she had a funny feeling it had to do with the blonde haired, blue eyed surgeon down the hall.

* * *

**Don't forget to review...**


	4. Protégé

**Happy new year everyone! I hope this year is good to you all :) **

**Lucas gets a new mentor, struggles in the friend zone with Brooke, and makes an interesting choice on a lonely Valentine's day... enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter Four – Protégé

A few weeks had passed since Brooke and Lucas' bathroom talk and Valentine's Day was fast approaching. Brooke hated Valentine's day with a _passion_. She couldn't understand why they needed one day to celebrate love. Shouldn't it be celebrated every day? It was also rare that she managed to maintain a relationship through Valentine's Day. She would occasionally have a date, but that's all they were. She'd never cared about someone enough to make a fuss of the day. Not since Aiden. Right now, she doubted she ever would. So, she just tried to pretend that the day wasn't even happening, or that her feelings for Lucas weren't growing.

Brooke and Lucas still managed to maintain a flirty exterior, but they were swiftly finding themselves slipping right into the friendzone. They both knew it was a difficult place to get out of, but they also really valued their friendship. It was goofy but serious and it was rare that they could find someone to talk to so openly about anything. They were often a rock on some difficult days. So, Brooke did what she did best – focus on the friendship, avoid all feelings.

Another thing that Brooke was trying to avoid was a budding romance happening right under her nose between Lucas and one of the nurses – Anna Taggaro. Brooke had always been aware of Lucas charming his way around the hospital and when he started talking to Anna, she didn't expect it to go anywhere, but somehow she was always round at the house and they were always whispering in each other's ears at work. Brooke didn't want to say that she was jealous… but she had a funny feeling that she _was_. So, she just tried to ignore it and get on with her work.

As she filled in some paperwork at the nurses' station one Thursday afternoon, she heard someone come up behind her.

"Brookie, there she is!" she heard the person say behind her as she turned around and smiled widely when she recognised the voice.

"Uncle Kirk!" she exclaimed excitedly as she jumped into the man's arms and squeezed him tightly. "What are you doing here?"

"Visiting my favourite goddaughter of course." He said with a wink. Brooke believed her Uncle Kirk was one of the most charming men she had ever met. He never settled down because he knew the flirting with anyone and everyone wouldn't have the same affect and he just couldn't part with the bachelor way of life.

Brooke playfully rolled her eyes, "I'm your_ only_ goddaughter…"

"So you're naturally a shoo-in for the number one spot." He replied as Brooke giggled. "As happy as I am to see you Brookie, your dad actually brought me here. He wants me to revitalise the plastics department." He explained. Kirk Walker had been best friends with Ted since they were little kids. Ted always joked that he couldn't do anything without Kirk following suit. They both went to med school, completed their residencies at the same hospital in New York and now they were at the top of their game in their respected departments. Kirk was the best plastic surgeon on the East coast and Ted was right in thinking he could bring in some serious revenue in Raleigh.

"So… that means you're sticking around?" she asked hopefully.

"Looks like it"

"Oh my gosh this is amazing!" Brooke said with a little squeal.

"Yeah, it's pretty exciting… I just need to find a protégé…" Kirk said seriously.

Brooke quirked an eyebrow, "A protégé?"

"Yeah, someone that I can hand the plastics baton on to. A mini Kirk Walker." He said proudly. While most surgeons had inflated egos, Kirk's had hit a major arrogance spot long ago. It had gotten to the point, however, that those closest to Kirk just couldn't take it seriously anymore.

"How about you teach _all_ the residents here, giving everyone a fair shot at being the best surgeons they could be?" Brooke suggested in a patronising tone.

"I'm not a teacher Brookie. I – am a _master_ of my craft." Kirk replied as Brooke held back a laugh.

Before she could say anything else, Lucas walked over to her with a clipboard.

"Davis, could you double check Mrs Labour's labs for me?" he asked as Brooke nodded and took the board from him. Lucas looked up and saw Kirk carefully eyeing him. "You're Kirk Walker."

"The one and only"

Lucas smiled, "Man, you're legendary, I was reading one of your papers the other day – did you know Dr. Walker did a full-face transplant recently?" he said to Brooke.

"Oh yeah, I heard about that somewhere…" Brooke replied. Of _course_ she'd heard _all_ about it, it was all Kirk could talk about for _weeks_.

"What's your name kid?" Kirk asked as they shook hands.

"Lucas Scott. 5th year resident, it really is an honour to meet you Dr. Walker. Are you here for long?"

"I've just accepted a job here at the hospital." He confirmed.

"Dr. Walker is very good friends with the chief" Brooke told him. "And he's my godfather"

Lucas quirked an eyebrow, "You really do have a lot of friends in high places, huh Davis?" he said, nudging her with his elbow.

"Are you interested in plastics Dr. Scott?" Kirk asked curiously.

"Absolutely. I think it deserves more recognition. People are so quick to dismiss it as solely boob jobs and bum lifts." Lucas said with a chuckle.

"Good attitude. We should talk later, right now I have a meeting with the chief." Kirk said as he turned back to Brooke who had since checked the labs and handed them back to Lucas. "See you later cookie" he said before striding away.

"Aw, thanks _cookie_" Lucas teased as Brooke punched him causing him to crunch over slightly.

"Your labs are fine" she responded. "Kirk wants to take you under his wing by the way."

"What? How can you tell?"

"He told me he was looking for a protégé and you definitely fit the bill." Brooke said as they started to walk on.

"How so?"

"Talented, respectful to plastics as a specialty, in awe of Kirk, handsome—"

"Aw cookie, you think I'm handsome?" he said as he rested his hand over his chest.

Brooke narrowed her eyes, "Get your mind out of the gutter Scott."

"Ok, well, I am flattered that you think so highly of me." Lucas boasted as he stuck his chest out and Brooke rolled her eyes. "You really think he'd take me on?"

Brooke nodded, "Yeah, I do."

* * *

Brooke was right. Kirk adopted Lucas as his own person resident, passing on all the tricks of the trade. It was going swimmingly and they were quickly becoming a dynamic duo, though it certainly was frustrating for all the other residents who kind of resented watching Lucas rise so quickly through the ranks.

As much as Lucas appreciated Kirk's teaching, there was one thing that was driving him crazy – how much _Anna _appreciated Kirk too. He was a handsome and charming man and he had everyone falling at his feet, even Lucas' sort of girlfriend. Much like Brooke had been with Chase, he simply refused to put a label on it. Brooke definitely wasn't the only commitment-phobe around here, but it didn't stop him from getting jealous. Jealous of the fact that Kirk sometimes seemed more interested in talking to Anna than he did in teaching Lucas.

"Tell me I'm being paranoid" Lucas asked Brooke as the grabbed a coffee from the cart a few weeks later.

Brooke sighed, "You're being paranoid." In all honesty, she really didn't care about Lucas' love life right now, especially on the day before Valentine's day. "Though… she did switch her surgery schedule so she could work with Walker in the OR…" Brooke added with a grimace. Anna claimed she wanted the chance to be a scrub nurse for the great Kirk Walker, but Brooke figured differently.

"Screw this. I can't be around Walker today." Lucas said dramatically as he threw his coffee into the bin. "I need Foster to rearrange the schedule or something, just for today"

Brooke rolled her eyes. Was he _really_ being this dramatic over a girl that he refused to call his girlfriend? "No chief resident in their right mind is going to rearrange the schedule just because you're having girl problems Scott. Suck it up."

Lucas pouted, "You used to care about my problems Brooke, what happened?"

"Your problems are no longer _real_ problems Lucas, there is nothing I can do about your jealousy." Brooke told him in a matter of fact manner.

Lucas quirked an eyebrow; "You cannot talk, you have been jealous of Anna and I since the moment we started seeing each other."

Brooke feigned disgust; "No I have not—"

"You can barely stand to be in the same room as us!" Lucas reasoned. Just last week Lucas and Anna had been making out on the sofa and Brooke slammed a bowl of popcorn down in front of them before storming out of the room.

"Because all you do is make out because there isn't actually any good conversation!" she exclaimed. She had even walked in on them kissing in the utility room. Was there anywhere they didn't so it?

"… that was mean." Lucas said with a frown.

"_That_ was an accurate observation." Brooke said, putting her foot down on this one. They really didn't have much more going for them than the fact they were both intelligent and attractive.

"You're just mad because me being with Anna means we can't go take that chance..." He teased. When he saw he was slipping into the friendzone with Brooke, his playboy ways for some reason started to resurface again. He had never really been a relationship guy, but right now, he was in denial about Brooke and denial meant he couldn't keep his head screwed on and he distracted himself elsewhere.

"Get your head out of your ass Scott."

"Ok, as long as you get the stick out of yours."

Brooke was about to scold him when Nathan walked past, and Lucas quickly pounced on him.

"Hey, Lee, what do you have today?" Lucas asked.

"A whole load of nothing, why?"

"How would you feel about taking a nerve graft off my hands?" Lucas practically begged.

Nathan smirked; "I would feel _great_ about that."

Brooke eyed the two of them before turning to Lucas, "… grow some balls Scott." She said before walking away.

* * *

Lucas had watched rather impatiently from the gallery as Kirk and Nathan completed the surgery. He knew it should have been him down there, Kirk even asked him to come down there, but Lucas still said no. He couldn't believe he was letting himself get so worked up over a girl – or so he thought. The more time he spent watching Kirk, the more he realised that this wasn't about Anna. It was about him. He was jealous that _Kirk_ was spending all this time flirting with Anna when he wanted to learn.

As he pondered over this, he made his way round to the ICU to check on some patients. One of them had given him a box of chocolates in a heart shaped box and he was now taking some time to feel sorry for himself and eat them outside the room. Brooke soon arrived to check on her own patients and frowned when she found Lucas sitting there.

"Hey" He greeted when he spotted Brooke. "The nougats are gone, sorry."

"Damn, they're my favourite." She said as she sat beside him. "What's with the heart shaped chocolates?" she asked as she took a few.

"A patient gave them to me. It's the closest thing to love I'll be getting this Valentine's day." He said solemnly.

"What happened with Anna?"

"I'm choosing Kirk." Lucas said definitively as Brooke raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I'm choosing my career over worrying about a girl that I can't even call my girlfriend… somethings tells me she won't give me a reason not to."

Brooke nodded her head and slumped into her chair a little further. "Valentine's Day is so overrated." She grumbled.

"You know, this is the first year I haven't had a date on Valentine's day since I was 14 years old." Lucas told her.

Brooke stopped chewing for a second and looked at him; "I would mock you right now if my mouth weren't so full."

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Try the square ones, they're caramel and sea salt." He said as she happily complied. "Why are you being so sour about Valentine's Day anyway?"

"It's a sad reminder that the only person I have ever loved is dead." Brooke said bluntly.

"…right." Lucas said awkwardly, not really sure how to respond.

"I'm sorry, that was—that was _dark."_ Brooke apologised. "It's been almost 10 years since Aiden died and I am a shadow of my former self." Brooke confessed. "I'm not as light and bubbly as I once was. I feel like there's this dark cloud constantly over me. None of who I am feels me anymore. It hasn't for a long time."

"You went through something that no one at your age should have to go through. I think it's understandable that you maybe wouldn't be yourself for a while—if ever again." Lucas sympathised.

"I want to be myself though. I—I can still let something like this shape me and refine me and stay with me for the rest of my life without it changing everything good about me." Brooke reasoned.

"The fact that you're sitting here saying all of these things, kind of suggests to me that you're not as lost as you think." Lucas said as he looked at her. "You're still in there Brooke. You've just got to find her."

"I guess so." Brooke mumbled. "And if you're still the same guy who's had a date on Valentine's Day since he was 15 years old, I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to find one for tonight. Just bat those baby blues at any one of those nurses and I'm sure they would fall at your feet." She teased.

Lucas chuckled; "Funny… I'm pretty sure that sense of humour also belongs to the real Brooke."

"I'm pretty sure you're right." Brooke said with a soft smile.

"Maybe uh—maybe tonight's the night we chance our luck?" Lucas suggested with a devilish smirk.

Brooke looked at him for a moment, before quickly deciding her answer. If they were ever going to chance it, it wouldn't be while they were both feeling sorry for themselves. "Now you're just_ pushing_ your luck" she said with a wink. "Happy Valentine's Day Scott." She said as she took one more chocolate, before smiling at him and leaving.

Lucas sat back in his chair with a smirk on his face. _Yep—he was definitely going to marry her one day._

* * *

That night, Lucas had made his way round to Tric to drown his sorrows a little. Things were getting back on track with Kirk, but for some reason he still felt a little lost. He thought doing this would make him happy, but there was just something _missing_.

He was already a little tipsy when he saw a purse slam down beside him along with a grouchy looking Peyton.

"Tequila please. Lots of it." Peyton merely said as the bar tender smirked and got out some shot glasses.

"What's up with you?" Lucas asked as he finished off his drink.

"Bad date._ Horrible_ date. I hate valentine's day." She said as she downed a few shots.

Lucas scoffed, "Tell me about it."

"Dude, you've had a date since you were like 14, Valentine's Day isn't sucky for you." Peyton said. She'd known him for a little over 4 years now. They were good friends, they'd gone through residency together, they knew a lot about each other that they could never dare to share with anyone else.

"Not this year. I chose my career this year and now I'm alone"

"And feeling sorry for yourself by the looks of things…" she said as she motioned to the empty glass in his hand.

"I'm not the one who came in here practically begging for tequila." Lucas countered.

"Whatever." Peyton grumbled. "Ugh, how is this fair? We are two stupidly attractive surgeons, if anyone should have a date on Valentine's day it should be us, right?"

Lucas shrugged, "I guess it wouldn't have hurt to have a little bit of fun tonight." A release from all the pressure he'd been feeling definitely wouldn't have been a bad thing.

Lucas and Peyton sat in silence for a few moments before they sat up a little straighter and looked at each other. Before they knew it, they were back home in Peyton's bedroom, ripping each other's clothes off, trying to mask the loneliness they felt with one night of meaningless sex.

But sex was never meaningless… right?

* * *

The following morning, Lucas carefully opened the door to Peyton's bedroom and looked down the hallway to make sure the coast was clear. The last thing he needed was his nosey roommates asking questions about what he was doing in there and he really didn't want Brooke to find out. He felt like a world class _idiot_. It may have been good at the time, but the aftershocks were beginning to settle in, and Lucas was beginning to wonder whether it had been worth it.

He delicately crept down the hallway and rushed into the bathroom, quickly closing the door behind him and letting out a breath.

"Running away from someone?" he heard a voice say as he jumped slightly and turned around to find Nathan standing at the sink, shaving.

"You guys really have a problem with locking doors around here." Lucas said as he sat on the edge of the bath.

Nathan shrugged, "For such a big house, having only one bathroom is a problem, so we cross some boundaries that most housemates wouldn't be willing to go."

"So I see…" he said as he ran a hand down his face.

"What's up?" Nathan asked, seeing that something was clearly bothering him.

"I did something last night…"

"Ah, you mean you did some_one_ last night."

"How…?"

"It's Valentine's day, I just made the most obvious conclusion." Nathan said with a smirk as he continued shaving. "Why are you feeling guilty about it?"

"I think I've just opened up a whole can of worms that I no way wanted to open." Lucas grumbled.

"I see… my advice? Deal with it head on. Don't avoid. It can only make it ten times worse." Nathan advised as Lucas nodded his head. He truly wished it could be that simple.

The door to the bathroom suddenly opened and Rachel appeared, paused and then smirked.

"Now this is adorable. Two roomies in the bathroom together…_ cute." _She teased as they both rolled their eyes.

"Morning Rachel…" Lucas said as he pushed past her and down to his room, wondering how he was ever going to deal with what was coming.

* * *

For the rest of the day, Lucas didn't heed Nathan's advice and he avoided Peyton like the plague. He just didn't know what to do or say about it. He was mad at himself for potentially ruining a friendship that he really valued all because he was feeling a little sorry for himself. He was mad at himself for taking a step that they may not be able to come back from.

As he pondered over his regret, he found himself falling into step with Brooke in the hallway of the general surgery department.

"Hey" she greeted happily as he mumbled a hi in response. "What's your problem?"

"Just reeling from a crappy Valentine's day."

Brooke raised an eyebrow. It really couldn't have been that bad, right? "Was ending things with Anna really that bad? You weren't that into her—" Brooke began, but she was cut off midsentence when Lucas spotted Peyton turn the corner, and he grabbed Brooke's arm and pulled her into the nearest supply closet—which happened to be a little snug for two people.

"What are you doing?!" Brooke said as she regained her balance.

"Hiding. From Peyton." Lucas said with a gulp. Looks like he was about to come clean about everything. He figured if he couldn't tell Brooke, who could he tell?

Brooke narrowed her eyes, "Why would you need to hide from Peyton? She's like your best friend around here…"

Lucas remained silent, struggling to look Brooke in the eye, leaving her to jump to conclusions about what happened. She thought about it for a brief moment before her eyes widened and she put two and two together.

"You slept with Sawyer?! _Lucas!"_ she exclaimed as she smacked him in the arm.

"Ow, what was that for?!" he exclaimed back.

"She's like your_ sister_, I cannot believe you would ruin that for one night of good sex!" she scolded as Lucas frowned. "And why the hell are you involving me?!"

"What are you talking about? I didn't say anything, you guessed!"

"I mean, why the hell did you pull me into this tiny closest?!" she said through her teeth as they stood only a breath apart. They definitely could have moved back a little bit, but the proximity felt good – though neither would ever dare admit it. Their burgeoning feelings for one another were growing more and more complicated by the second.

Lucas frowned; "We were having a conversation, I didn't want to be rude."

"Oh, yeah, cause dragging me into a supply closet is _really _polite." She said with an eyeroll. After pausing to calm down a little, Brooke took the time to think about the situation. The more she thought about it, the more she realised that maybe Lucas and Peyton weren't such a bad idea after all. They knew each other really well, they had the same interests, the same egotistical drive. Maybe this could work – and maybe this would act as a deterrent for Brooke's feelings for Lucas.

"You know… maybe it's not such a bad thing."

"Excuse me?"

"Maybe you and Peyton having some fun wouldn't be such a bad thing. You're both hot young singles, you don't have to go through that awkward get to know you phase… I think it could work." Brooke reasoned as she crossed her arms over her chest protectively.

"… you're serious?"

"Yeah!" Brooke said, trying to sound as enthusiastic as possible. "We all need a release Lucas and Peyton could be the perfect one for you." Lucas just stared right at Brooke, trying to process her reaction. He didn't know what to expect from her, but it didn't feel like it should be this. Brooke awkwardly cleared her throat, "How long do we have to stay in here?" Brooke asked.

Before Lucas could answer, the door flung open and Peyton and Kirk stood on the other side, looking confused.

Brooke smiled awkwardly; "Oh. Hi."

"I thought I saw you come in here Lucas..." Peyton said as she shifted awkwardly, clearly confused by his actions.

"Yeah, I was just—looking for—something" he said as he lifted a random item and held it up.

"What about you Brookie?" Kirk asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, I was just helping…" she said as she lifted something else and held it up. They all stood there for a brief moment before Brooke made a move. "I'm gonna—yeah." Brooke said as she moved past them all and started walking down the corridor, but Kirk was hot on her tail.

"Brooke—"

"Hi Uncle Kirk" she said cheerfully, hoping he would not question the supply closet incident.

"Brooke, stop." Kirk said as he turned her around. "You were in a supply closet. With Scott."

"It's a long story—"

"Do you like Scott?" Kirk asked. He had never been one to dance around an issue. He was happy to get straight to the point with this one.

"No! No, we're friends—" Brooke stopped explaining herself when she noticed Kirk smirking at her. "Stop smirking at me like that."

"It's just a smile."

"No, it's a creepy _smirk."_

"I see it." Kirk said cryptically.

Brooke frowned and crossed her arms; "See what?"

"You and Scott. I don't quite know what it is but—there's something… and I see it." Kirk told her.

"You're insane."

"That may be so, but I'm not an idiot. I know a connection when I see one. I'm rooting for you. My protégé and my goddaughter. _Wow_."

"Stop it."

"_Nope_."

Brooke grabbed the lapels of Kirk's coat, "I swear to God if you say anything about this conversation to Lucas I will sucker punch you." She grumbled.

Kirk shrugged, "I've been sucker punched before and lived. Mark my words Cookie—you're meant to be." He said, leaving Brooke in disbelief behind him.

* * *

A few weeks had passed before Brooke heard anymore about Lucas and Peyton. Until today, she had no idea what Lucas had decided to do, and she wasn't sure she wanted to know, though she felt like a bad friend for giving him this advice and then just ignoring the outcome. Avoidance was what she was best at after all. But that morning, Rachel had come bursting into her room moaning and covering her ears.

"_What's wrong?" Brooke asked as she snuggled a little further into bed._

"_Lucas and Peyton is what's wrong. They've been going at it like rabbits for the past few weeks and I am sick of all of Peyton's cringey sex noises, GOD it needs to STOP"_

"… _Lucas and Peyton are sleeping together?" Brooke questioned as she sat up in bed and furrowed her eyebrows._

_Rachel looked at her in disbelief. "How could you not know that? How could you not hear that?!"_

_Brooke slumped back into her bed with a groan. She couldn't quite believe that he actually took her advice. It was terrible advice._

So, Brooke yet again did what she did best – avoided. She threw herself into her work, something she was excellent at. Today, she had a patient with a hand laceration who kept grabbing people's asses due to a neurological reflex issue. She tried to sew it herself, but he was getting far too handsy, so she called Lucas to come and do it—with a fair warning to watch his ass.

While she filled in his paperwork, Lucas walked over to her.

"Thanks for the warning on the ass grabbing…" he mumbled as Brooke chuckled.

"I figured you might be less of a target for him" she explained.

"_So_ glad you were willing to put me in the line of fire…" he joked.

Brooke gave him a smug smirk and a shrug. He was a budding plastic surgeon, he was definitely the best person to do some sewing… Brooke looked up at Lucas and for the first time noticed he looked a little more down than usual. He looked tired and frustrated and altogether a little done with the day.

"You ok?" she asked cautiously.

"Yeah, Yeah, I'm just—exhausted." He said vaguely.

"Oh… Peyton keeping you up at night?" she teased, surprising _herself_ that she was willing to bring it up.

Lucas gulped. Brooke was the last person he wanted to talk to about this. "You really want to talk about that?"

"We're friends, friends talk. It doesn't have to be weird." She encouraged him with a soft smile. Deep down, it would always be weird, but Lucas and Brooke valued each other's friendship a heck of a lot.

Lucas sighed; "I feel pretty terrible about it but it's also like an _addiction_."

"I think that's a sign you like her." Brooke observed.

"… no. No, it's not—it's not like that. I mean—of course I like her, she's a very good friend of mine, it's just—it's just sex though." Lucas reasoned. That's all the expectations he had going into this. That's all he wanted… but sex could never be that straight forward, right? He did like Peyton. He had always liked Peyton, but he didn't want to set himself up for something like this. That wasn't the plan.

"Honestly? I'm not sure Peyton is the kind of girl who is into just sex." Brooke replied. She hadn't had many conversations with Peyton, but she remembered pretty clearly a drunken night at Tric near the beginning of the year where Peyton made clear that her dream man was out there and that she was going to find him and marry him and have a tonne of babies. It was clear that 'just sex' wasn't really Peyton's thing. "But I guess you know the situation better than I do, so just—be careful… and get some sleep you look terrible." She teased.

"Oh gee thanks…" he said with a glare. "What about you? You seeing anyone?"

"You know better than that Lucas…" Brooke replied. Of course she wasn't seeing anyone. It would be a freaking _miracle_ for her to be seeing anyone.

"I know you think surgeons are egotistical maniacs who struggle to form meaningful relationships in the workplace but— you should break that mould." Lucas encouraged.

Brooke folded her arms, "Just because you took my advice doesn't mean I'm going to take yours. Besides… where would I even start?"

"You could let me take you for a drink" Lucas suggested.

"Oh my god Lucas, you're sleeping with Peyton and you're asking me out? Gross!" she scolded as she slapped his arm.

"Ow, I'm not saying it's a date, just hanging out, as friends." Lucas said with a shrug. "A meaningful workplace relationship doesn't necessarily have to be a romantic one…"

"Do you think we could do that? Have a non-romantic workplace relationship?"

"I think we already have one." Lucas encouraged as Brooke gulped. _Stupid friendzone._

"…alright. You're on."

Lucas smirked back at her; "Is this a dream? Is Brooke Davis finally giving in and letting me buy her a drink?"

"I am not giving in to anything, I am offering to go for a drink with a colleague."

Lucas placed his hand on his heart; "Colleague? Damn, that is _cold."_

"Isn't uh—isn't Peyton waiting for you?" she teased as Lucas raised an eyebrow.

"You're bold Cheery."

"I know. So tonight, Tric?" she said as she lifted her charts.

"Count me in."

"Great. I shall see you there." She said with a smile before walking away and leaving a pleased Lucas behind her.

_What was it about Brooke Davis that she had such a profound effect on people?_

* * *

**Cause the story would be boring without some complications... right?**

**Don't forget to review!**


	5. Over Complications

**You guys were as outraged about the last chapter as I expected you to be lol... I would ask you to remember that this is just a story, I am not here to try and 'fix' what OTH did wrong, it's just a bit of fun in an alternative universe. In my opinion, more frustration means more joy when things finally fall into place and a good story is one that has conflict that leads to a great resolution. I'm a sucker for a bit of heart break, but that doesn't mean this won't be a fun story to read too. If that's not what you're here for, that's cool! Just please avoid being rude in the reviews :)**

**And trust me - _I do not want to write Pucas anymore than you want to read it_. That doesn't mean that it's necessarily going to go away, but you will not have to read any sickly sweet moments about them. Because I update everyday, this story is fast paced, so goodness is coming, I promise!**

**If you're just here for some wholesome Brucas content (which I don't blame you for), stick around for the next few chapters! And then when maybe tune back in around chapter 19 to get what you want... but you'll be missing out on some juicy drama and slow building tension...**

**For now, Brooke and Lucas have two weddings on the horizon... enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter Five – Over Complications

Brooke and Lucas never got to have their drink that night, as Lucas explained later things hit a head with Peyton that resulted in them ending whatever it is they were. He was beginning to have doubts that what they were doing had been a good idea and naturally, Peyton was mad. She thought that they were developing something good and real, but clearly Lucas felt otherwise. What Lucas didn't tell her was that Brooke had been on his mind ever since their conversation about going for a drink had happened. He promised to make it up to Brooke for missing it and they went out for a drink the following night… and the night after that… and the night after that. They both insisted it was just a friendship drink, they spent a lot of time bonding over their failed 'bold' relationship choices - but no one could deny the sparks that seemed to be lighting between them. It appeared that they were finally moving out of the awkward friendship zone they found themselves in.

Lucas was desperately trying to find a way to truly move them past that stage. He figured if they just kept going for drinks at Tric they'd be forever bound in a rotating cycle of deep chats and bad relationship advice that was used to mask how they were really feeling. The perfect opportunity arose a few weeks later when one of the attendings was getting married and had invited some of the residents, including Brooke and Lucas. So, Lucas tried to masterfully orchestrate a way to ask her to go as his date without making it weird.

"Hey Brooke, you're going to Piper's wedding, right?" Lucas asked as they fell into line with one another in the hallway.

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, I was thinking… there's no point us both taking cars when we live together and work together and it means we could just go straight from the hospital and not have to worry about going back and forth for clothes and—"

"Quit rambling Scott." Brooke said with a little giggle. "Sounds to me like you're trying, miserably I might add, to ask me out on a date…"

Lucas gulped, "Well what better opportunity to chance my luck than to take you to a wedding?" he asked as they stopped and he took a step closer towards her. "They're terribly romantic and they're definitely much more fun when you have someone by your side to enjoy it with." He said quietly.

"Hm" Brooke said as she thought about it for a moment. "You know… I always thought that when you took you shot, you'd be on your hands and knees _begging_ to date me…"

Lucas chuckled, "You do have a profound affect on people Davis, but for now, I'm somehow managing to hold it together."

Brooke gave him a lopsided smirk, "Something tells me you won't be holding it altogether by the end of this wedding…" she said as she fixed the lapels of his white doctor's coat. "You're on Scott." She said before patting his chest and walking away.

* * *

"Hey" Rachel called as he caught up with Brooke in the hallway later that day. "What's this about you going to Piper's wedding with Lucas?" he asked, having heard from another one of the doctors.

"Wow, news travels fast around here…" Brooke grumbled as she and Rachel walked into the lounge. "It's not a big deal. We're friends… sort of… I don't know, it's all a little strange."

"Yeah, especially considering he was hooking up with Peyton not _two_ weeks ago." Rachel said, looking at her friend a little concerned about the whole thing. She wasn't sure how she felt about a guy who could jump so easily between girls.

"I'm not pledging myself to him Rachel, it's just a date." Brooke said with a little laugh as they sat on the bench in the lounge.

"Maybe… but you have a thing for him, Brooke. You have since the moment he walked through the door, don't even pretend otherwise." Rachel warned. She was worried that her friend was setting herself up for heartbreak by pursuing something with him so fresh off the back of Peyton.

"I mean, he's great, but Sawyer is a lot of baggage to come with. Not to mention he'd be the first guy that I could really see myself falling for since Aiden—"

"You know, a part of me just wants you to sleep with him so you can finally start up something good and worthwhile in your life." Rachel confessed, quickly changing her tune. She worried about Brooke withdrawing herself from people over the years. She was so focused on her studies and it had paid off for her, she flew through med school and was at the top of her game at the hospital. However, a part of what made Brooke, _Brooke_, was her vivacious and bright character. Aiden had forever changed her, but there were parts of her Rachel just didn't want her to leave behind.

"Careful, Rachel—" Brooke warned. She didn't want this to turn into a sob fest about how it was time for her to be 'her true self' or something stupid like that.

"Brooke—"

"I gotta go. Nerve graft" Brooke said abruptly, before swiftly standing up and leaving, not wanting this conversation to go any further.

* * *

A few days later, the wedding had rolled around and Brooke was looking forward to spending some time away from the hospital and actually putting something nice on. Her blue scrubs and messy ponytail really wasn't her best look. She had always been really into her clothes and even liked to make a few dresses from time to time.

When she came downstairs ready to go, Lucas had turned to look at her and immediately smiled.

"_You look incredible"_ he said quietly in her ear as she couldn't help but blush. She really had no idea what she was doing with Lucas, and whether it was a good idea, but she did know how good it felt to spend time with him and she was going to take what she could when she could.

They soon arrived at the wedding venue and discovered that there was a delay in starting as Piper was caught up with a surgery at the hospital, so all the guests were waiting around at the bar. While Lucas, Nathan and a few other residents all sat at a table talking, Brooke and Rachel sat at the bar. While Rachel rambled on about one of her patients, Brooke couldn't help but stare at Lucas as he animatedly talked with their friends.

"I swear Brooke you should have seen this guy's eye… it was full of puss and just totally vile and—"

"Lucas has nice eyes… I mean I've known him for a while now and I always thought he had nice eyes but I'm really taking them in now… do you think they're blue or green?" Brooke rambled. Over the past few months, Brooke had managed to put Lucas to the back of her mind, but since they starting going for drinks, she got the same flutters in her stomach that she got when she first saw him tackle the guy to the ground in the ER.

"Don't you _dare_ sleep with him." Rachel warned.

"I'm not!" Brooke protested. "… why not?" she asked quietly. Rachel hadn't certainly changed her tune.

"I know I said it might be good to get you back into a dating cycle but - You are Brooke freakin Davis, the crown jewel of the hospital, he already has the fact that he screwed with Peyton on his conscious, he doesn't need the fact that he broke you out of your emotional Aiden-shell with one night of good sex on his conscience either. The person you should be with after Aiden, should be more than Lucas Scott could ever be—" Rachel warned. She really wasn't impressed by his latest antics.

"He's a Scott, Rachel, how much more perfect can you get? He's probably not even interested. He's just trying to keep his mind off Sawyer—"

"Yeah, that's why he told you he would bide his time till he felt he could ask you out." They heard Nathan say as he came and sat beside them.

"I'm sorry, what?" Rachel asked as she choked on her drink. As Brooke blushed. "You kept that little detail quiet."

"Yeah, he even told Sawyer he would marry her one day" Nathan added as Brooke and Rachel's mouths fell open.

"Stop, no he didn't… did he?" Brooke questioned, a little shocked at Lucas' bold declaration.

"Yeah, Peyton told me drunkenly at Tric the other night. She's convinced he dumped her for you Brookie." Nathan told her.

"That is _not_ true, he did that for himself." Brooke said, a little uncertainly. She looked around the room and spotted Peyton standing at the bar, doing exactly what she herself had been doing a few minutes ago – staring at Lucas.

Before anything else could be said, all of their pagers went off and they were summoned back to the hospital to deal with a pretty big trauma. As Brooke left the room, she rushed past Lucas who quickly caught up with her.

"Hey, you ok?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah, yeah, all good" she said with a tight-lipped smile before jumping into Nathan's car and speeding away.

* * *

After performing a few surgeries with Lucas, Brooke was exhausted. She felt like she had barely left work before she was called back and with the wedding in between, she just wanted to crash for the night. She soon remembered that she couldn't even leave because Nathan and Lucas were the ones who drove. So, she made her way to the on-call room and fell asleep almost instantly. She had always struggled to sleep in the on-call room beds, but she was clearly past the point of caring.

She didn't wake up again until a few hours later, when Lucas walked into the room and offered to take her home, which she gratefully accepted. As they arrived back at the house, Lucas stopped the car and they sat for a moment in a comfortable silence.

"Crazy day, huh?" Lucas said.

"You could say that again." Brooke chuckled.

"You know… I never pictured you as a motorcycle girl…" he teased. Earlier while they were treating a patient who was a victim of a motorcycle crash, she had said she thought it was hot when a guy rode one.

"What kind of girl did you picture me as?" she asked with a smirk.

"I reckon you like preppy boys."

"Considering the last guy I was seeing was a bartender and then there's Aiden who spent most of his time in shorts and flip-flops, even in the winter, I think that's a little off…"

Lucas chuckled; "It appears so."

"I guess some people can surprise you."

"Yeah… they definitely can." Lucas said as they both shared a moment.

Lucas took all of Brooke in. She was so beautiful. Her eyes were captivating, and her smile was enchanting. "You have no idea how badly I want to kiss you right now…" he confessed.

"… then why don't you?" she asked quietly.

He hesitated for a moment before he leaned over and rested his hand on cheek before giving her a searing kiss.

After a few moments they pulled away from each other ever so slightly and shared another little moment before Brooke smiled. She couldn't quite believe this was happening.

"Goodnight Lucas" she said in a whisper before giving him one more quick kiss and getting out of the car.

Lucas leant back in his chair and watched as she made her way to the front door.

"Goodnight pretty girl" he replied, despite her not being able to hear him. He felt like this was the start of something really good and he couldn't wait to see where it went.

As he took the key out of the ignition, he watched as Peyton got out of a taxi and made her way to the front door. He felt a little bit ashamed over how he had treated her. It wasn't that he didn't like her, he really did and he found himself developing feelings for her, but it just didn't feel right. It didn't seem fair that they started because he was feeling bad about himself. Peyton soon spotted him sitting in the car and walked over to him, just as he got out of the car.

"Hey Scott" she greeted as she pulled her coat tighter around her body to try and combat the cold.

"Sawyer… good night?"

"A weird one. I got some blood on my dress in the ER cause I didn't have time to change into my scrubs…" she said, showing him the blood on her sleeve.

"Life of a surgeon, huh?"

"Yeah, exactly." She said, as they fell into a rather uncomfortable silence.

"Listen, Peyton… I really am sorry about everything." Lucas said. He'd already apologised, but he felt like he needed to say it again and again until it went in.

Peyton shook her head, "It's ok, really." She insisted.

Lucas quirked an eyebrow, "Really?" he asked. She hadn't been so cool the other week when he ended it.

"Yeah, I've had some time to think about it and… I don't think we're finished." She said cryptically.

"What do you mean?"

"I can't even explain it." She said with a little laugh as she took a step forward. "I just have this feeling that there's more to this. That this is something we need to see through." She said as Lucas gulped. She had become like an addiction to him over the past few weeks and he was still tempted by her right now. "So, you do your thing with Brooke, or whoever your girl of the month will be but uh—I'll still be here. I think we have something good. Something grounded in a really strong friendship… something tells me you'll realise that too." She finished before leaning up and teasingly kissing him on the cheek. "Goodnight Lucas" she whispered before making her way inside, leaving Lucas feeling conflicted and confused.

* * *

Brooke was nervous going into work the next day. She had been on cloud nine since her kiss with Lucas, but she was nervous about the conversation she might have about it today. She was nervous that he would say he regretted it, she was nervous that people would find out.

As soon as she got into her scrubs, she went to find him. It didn't take long for her to locate him in one of the on-call rooms—just as he was putting his shirt on after a nap he had just taken.

She froze for a moment, not sure what to do. He was in excellent shape, Brooke couldn't deny that, but she felt like she couldn't just stare-

Lucas smirked; "Like what you see cheery?"

"Last time I checked, you were the one who kissed me broody…" she said as he pulled his shirt over his head and she closed the door.

"I reckon it was pretty mutual." He said with a laugh.

"Right…" Brooke confirmed as she shifted awkwardly in her spot. "You uh—you don't regret it. Do you?"

"No. Not at all." Lucas told her as he towered over her, causing her to gulp. She couldn't remember the last time a boy had this effect on her. "All I can think about is you and kissing you." He confessed as Brooke tried to hide her smile. "I do think that it's probably in our best interests though that we keep this to ourselves—"

"Oh thank god you said that." Brooke said letting out a breath. "Between my dad and Kate and Rachel and Nate, I want to keep this even more quiet than you do and I really don't need people thinking that I'm getting surgeries not just because of my parents but also because I'm sleeping with you—"

"We're sleeping together now?" he teased.

Brooke playfully rolled her eyes in response before continuing, "—I'm going to get surgeries because I am awesome."

"That is true. You are extremely awesome." He said quietly before bending down and kissing her.

Things began to get heated as Brooke's hands went around Lucas's neck and his hands roamed under her shirt and across her back, sending shivers down her spine. Just as Lucas moved to part her lips with his tongue, their pagers went off and they both groaned.

"To be continued." Lucas said as Brooke nodded and opened the door.

"So, have you started applying for fellowships yet?" Brooke asked as they walked down the corridor.

"I've sent a few applications off, but I don't know what I'm going to do. I didn't expect to like it so much here." Lucas confessed. He always figured that he'd head back to Boston or New York for his fellowship, but he didn't expect to have people here that would make him want to stay. He had started to make roots a lot sooner than he planned. "Plus, I really think I have a lot more to learn from Walker."

"Yeah, Uncle Kirk is definitely sprucing you up to be the next big thing in plastics." Brooke confirmed. Kirk loved Lucas. He treated him like a son and loved nothing more than showing him the way to be the best plastic surgeon in the country. "And as much as he likes being near me and dad, I think his heart is in New York."

Lucas frowned, "You think he'll leave Raleigh?"

"Yeah. When he's certain you're ready to take over the department." Brooke confirmed. "So I reckon that's something worth sticking around for"

"Do you think there's anything else here worth sticking around for?" Lucas asked as the stopped and looked at one another.

"I don't know… I guess you'll have to stay to find out" she said with a smirk before walking away, leaving Lucas with a smile on his face.

* * *

Over the next few weeks, Lucas and Brooke continued to spend more and more time together. They felt like they were really getting somewhere in their relationship, though both were more than happy to take it slow. Again, they were both notoriously afraid of labels and commitment, so this was working well for them. They wanted to be sure that this was something worth pursuing before they potentially ruined a really solid friendship.

Lucas was also a little hesitant because of Peyton. For some reason, he really couldn't get her off his mind. Ever since that night in the driveway when she told them there was something still there, he had been wondering if she was right. They had been friends for so long and they got on so well that he wondered if she had been the one for him all along – but he was conflicted. His feelings for Brooke were growing every day and he didn't want to ignore those. He felt like the biggest idiot in the world and had no idea what the hell he was doing.

Despite both of their hesitance, Brooke saw an opportunity one weekend to take their relationship to a new level. She was scared to put that extra pressure on it, but she wanted to at least test the waters. Lucas was all about making bold choices – right?

"Hey" she greeted as she cautiously approached him at the nurses' station that Tuesday morning. "What are you doing this weekend?"

"I don't know. There's some football on, I'll probably watch it" he said with a shrug as he closed his charts. He was a fan of do-nothing weekends considering his weekly life was so busy. "Why?" he asked as he turned to look at her.

"How would you feel about going to New York for the weekend?" Brooke asked slowly, not wanting to freak him out. Her mother was getting married this weekend and Brooke couldn't be more excited for her. She saw how Ted marrying Kate had affected her confidence considering it happened so soon after the divorce, but now she had found her forever guy in Martin Masterson and Brooke was thrilled she was getting her happy ending. She couldn't wait to celebrate with them. While her mother could sometimes be difficult, she had grown fonder of her over the years as she grew to appreciate all Victoria had done for her without her even realising.

Lucas awkwardly cleared his throat "New York? As in where your mother and brothers live?"

"Yep…" Brooke confirmed.

"Wh—why would you want us to go there?" he asked with an awkward laugh.

"Well, I told you my mom was getting married right?" she asked as he nodded his head, "The wedding is this weekend and I thought maybe you could come with me…" she told him with a soft smile.

"As like… your boyfriend?" he asked cautiously.

Brooke's face fell, realising that he was freaking out. They never had that conversation and she didn't think now was the time to have it either, so she tried to back track.

"No!" she said quickly. "No, we're not really in that place—right now… but as my date. It doesn't have to be a big deal, I just thought it would be fun. Davis' really know how to throw a party so you'll likely wake up with very little memory of the night before and that is the sign of a time well had." Brooke joked.

Lucas chuckled; "You're selling it well."

"Thank you" she said with a smirk.

"I uh- I need to check what surgeries I have going on, but I'll get back to you." He said, giving her a vague non-committal answer.

"Ok. Don't—don't feel any pressure or whatever, I just—I just wanted to ask. See you later." She said before awkwardly walking away. They were like dumb teenagers around each other and it was _maddening_.

* * *

Lucas could barely focus for the rest of the day. He was suitably freaked out by Brooke's suggestion and he had no idea why. I mean – meeting a parent was a big thing, especially when they were just hanging out and kissing – a lot. Things would often get pretty hot and heavy but Brooke stopped them before it went any further. He figured it was because she wanted to be sure before she took that step and he didn't blame her considering what happened with Chase.

He walked into the residents lounge that afternoon in a daze, finding Nathan banging on the coffee machine in a bid to make it work.

"Brooke asked me if I wanted to go to LA this weekend" Brooke blurted out, hoping for some decent advice from Nathan.

"For Victoria's wedding?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah… is that weird?"

"You're basically dating her man, the least you can do is go to a wedding with her" Nathan reasoned. He and Rachel were growing beyond frustrated with this whole Brooke and Lucas 'I can't commit because I'm scared thing.' There just seemed to be a lack of honest communication and over caution to the point of frustration. It all just felt unnecessarily complicated.

"It seems very—coupley." Lucas added.

Nathan rolled his eyes; "It's not your wedding _idiot_."

"Can you please just give me some reasonable, well thought out advice?" Lucas snapped.

Nathan sighed and turned away from the coffee machine; "Look, Brooke is very much on the same page as you. She wants to see where this goes, but she's scared. You're clearly scared about liking her too much too and I'm guessing you're also having conflicting feelings over the whole Peyton thing." He suggested. Lucas went to downplay the Peyton thing, but Nathan stopped him before he could. "She's into you man and she's having a good time with you, so she wants to bring you somewhere to have an even better time. You're over thinking it."

"I—I really like her." Lucas confessed quietly. He really, _really_ liked her. He liked her from the moment he saw her. He trusted her, he valued her friendship, she was insanely beautiful, and her spirit was contagious.

"Then what are you being weird for? Get your ass to New York."

* * *

It didn't take long for Lucas to realise that Nathan was right. So, as Brooke left the hospital that evening, Lucas rushed after her to tell her he'd decided to come with her. He liked this girl, he liked her a lot, what was the point in hiding it?

"Brooke!" he called as she turned around.

"Hey"

"About New York—"

"Look, I really didn't mean to freak you out, I just thought it could be fun, but you really don't have to come—" Brooke insisted, feeling bad about making him panic.

"No, I want to come." He said as a small smile rose on Brooke's face. They'd already tried one wedding date and while they didn't get to the actual wedding part, they'd had a good night that ended in their first kiss. "A few days in the big apple sounds awesome. Plus, I love weddings and I am an _excellent_ dancer."

Brooke laughed, "Now that is something I have to see."

Lucas wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed her head as they left the hospital together, glad to be in each other's company.


	6. A Piece in the Puzzle

**Brooke and Lucas head to New York and Victoria gets sentimental about her kids in this chapter... enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter Six – A Piece in the Puzzle

"Mom?" Brooke called through Victoria's Manhattan brownstone that Friday evening as she and Lucas set their overnight bags down at the door. "Hello?" she called again, but there was no response.

Brooke looked at Lucas and shrugged before leading him through the hallway and into the kitchen. Lucas took the opportunity to look all around him at their beautiful house. It reminded him a lot of the house he grew up in in Boston. She soon spotted Victoria's dog, Murphy in his basket as he immediately jumped up and sprinted towards her.

"Hi Murphy!" Brooke greeted happily as she bent down and let Murphy jump all over her. "Oh you are just the best dog in the world, aren't you? Yes you are?" she said in a baby voice as Lucas chuckled. "This is Lucas, can you say hi?" Brooke said as she stood up and let Lucas pet the golden retriever. "My little brother _begged_ my mother for a dog and she gave in so she wouldn't have to listen to him anymore." Brooke explained with a little laugh. "My mother is not a dog person, she's too delicate for that…"

"Except when she's sawing into someone's chest" they heard a voice say behind them as they turned around and spotted Brooke's teenage brother Matty come into the kitchen.

"Matty!" Brooke said with a smile as she walked over to him and hugged him tightly. Matty Davis was a handsome 17-year-old, much like his siblings. He was tall and lanky and had the same dimpled smile as Brooke.

"The prodigal sister returns!" he teased as Brooke glared and smacked his stomach.

"Watch it…" she warned as she walked back over to Lucas who had been smiling at the scene in front of him. "Matty this is Lucas, Lucas, my little brother Matty" she introduced as they shook hands.

"Nice to meet you Lucas" Matty greeted.

"Yeah, you too… pats fan?" he asked as he motioned to the New England Patriots cap Matty had on his head.

"Let's just say there is no one else worth supporting." Matty said as Lucas chuckled.

"I'm with you there man"

Matty smirked, "Alright… I think you and I are going to get along Lucas. Nice job Brookie" he said as he shoved her slightly and Brooke blushed.

"Is mom here?" she asked.

Just as Matty was about to answer, Victoria came pounding into the room. "Mom is here – Matthew get that _awful_ cap off your head, we're indoors, what could you possibly need it for?" Victoria scolded as she took the cap off his head and Matty slumped away.

"Nice to see you too Mom" Matty joked as Victoria glared and he held up his hands before walking away.

Victoria turned to Brooke who was looking at her with wide eyes as Lucas stood sheepishly behind her. Victoria Davis – soon to be Masterson – was a stern looking lady. She was immaculately dressed and her hair perfectly blow dried. She was essentially an older version of Brooke, though her eyes weren't as soft and her dimples weren't as pronounced.

"Brookie, hi sweetie" Victoria said as she walked towards her, giving her a hug and a kiss. "You look wonderful, as usual… and this must be Lucas. It's great to meet you, Brooke has told me so much about you." She said as she hugged him, taking Lucas by surprise. He guessed first perceptions weren't necessarily everything.

Lucas smirked, "Is that so?"

Brooke playfully rolled her eyes, "Watch out mom, we don't want to over-inflate his ego…"

"Oh I know all too well that a surgeon's ego is big enough, there's nothing I can do to make it worse." Victoria said with a wink. "I'm sorry that the house is such a mess Lucas, I've just been a little stressed over the wedding preparations." She said as she frantically tried to tidy up.

"Oh, please, don't worry about it, I'm sure the past few days have been pretty crazy for you." Lucas said politely. "Thank you for inviting me by the way" he added.

"Oh sweetie you're very welcome." Victoria replied. "It's so lovely to see Brooke finally bringing someone to meet her mother! I've been telling her that she just needs to move to New York where the pool is _much_ bigger—"

"Ok mom! I don't think we need to bore Lucas with your desperation to marry me off to some rich investor" Brooke joked.

Lucas wrapped his arm around Brooke's shoulder, "Oh no, I would love to hear _all_ about that one…"

"Yeah, no. Just because mom is marrying one doesn't mean I need to." Brooke said definitively as she patted him on the chest. "When are Harry and Martin getting here?" Brooke said referring to her elder brother and soon to be stepfather.

"Harrison isn't getting here until the morning, he's working the night shift at the hospital and Martin should be here for dinner." Victoria confirmed as Brooke nodded. "It was _such_ a pity that your father and Kate couldn't make this weekend." Victoria said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Mom, be nice…"

Victoria scoffed, "Brooke, you never have anything nice to say about Kate so why should I?"

"She's my stepmother I'm not supposed to have anything nice to say about her, you're the parent here, you have to be the bigger person." Brooke half-joked. She and Kate had never really formed a bond. She didn't hate the woman but she wasn't keen on becoming her best friend any time soon.

"You don't need parenting anymore Brookie, you're almost 30" Victoria said as she ran her thumb over her cheek.

Brooke shivered, "_Ugh,_ don't remind me." She still had two years left, but it seemed closer than that.

"Now Lucas tell me, how is your mother?" Victoria asked as she sat down at the kitchen island.

"You know Lucas' mom?" Brooke asked. Surgeon circles didn't appear to be all that big.

"Oh yes, Karen and I go way back, we did our residency together here in Manhattan." Victoria confirmed. Brooke looked at her shocked.

"You never told me that"

Victoria shrugged, "It never came up…"

Lucas smiled, "She's doing good, taking Mass Gen by storm in the oncology department, of course." He confirmed. Karen Scott was a little bit of a legend in surgery circles. All the Scotts were, but Karen was a trail blazer and had inspired countless women to pursue their surgical passions.

"Oh I have no doubt about that, she's an inspiring woman. Brooke tells me you're a 5th year resident, what specialty are you hoping to go into?" she asked.

"Plastics and ENT" Lucas confirmed. "Kirk Walker has kind of taken me under his wing."

"Oh my god Kirk Walker, I haven't seen that man since he showed up at the lawyer's office with party poppers the day I finalised my divorce with your father…" she said with an eyeroll as Brooke and Lucas held back their laughter. Sounds like Kirk. "The man doesn't have the balls to realise that one woman for the rest of your life is _more_ than enough and _incredibly_ fulfilling."

Lucas gulped awkwardly, thinking about his own weird situation with Peyton and Brooke. While he wasn't doing anything with Peyton, it still felt strange because he was still thinking about her.

He quickly cleared his throat to snap himself out of his thoughts, "He's an interesting character but he's really taught me a lot."

"How very diplomatic of you Lucas" Victoria responded. "I guess at the very least he's an excellent surgeon and he's always spoiling his godchildren…" she conceded. Kirk was wonderful with all three of her kids, even if he didn't have it in him to be a father himself. "Now, I have a few last minute bits and pieces to get ready so why don't you and Lucas go and get settled and then we can get ready for the rehearsal dinner?"

Brooke nodded, "Sounds good momma. You sure you don't need any help?" she asked.

"No, no, I have it sorted, go and enjoy your time away from the hospital." Victoria insisted.

"It was really nice to meet you Ms Davis"

"Please, call me Victoria" she insisted as Lucas nodded.

Lucas walked out into the hallway in front of Brooke and before she left the kitchen completely, she turned back to look at her mother who was furiously nodding her head, clearly impressed in the few short minutes she'd spoken to Lucas. She quickly gave Brooke a thumbs up – and Brooke couldn't help but smile. _Her mother liked him_. Victoria was a hard woman to please and she_ actually_ liked him. She had a feeling that this was going to be a good weekend.

As she walked into the hallway, Lucas suddenly turned around, held onto her waist and delicately kissed her. When they broke apart she smirked.

"What was that for?"

"Your mom is great. Your brother is great. _You_ are great." He said as Brooke smiled. He really loved seeing her in her element and in her childhood home. It was like adding another piece to the puzzle that was Brooke Davis.

"I'm glad you think they're great… and _super_ glad you think I'm great" she said as she blushed and Lucas chuckled.

"From the moment I met you, I had a funny feeling you might be one of the best people I would ever meet." He complimented before kissing her cheek.

* * *

The following day soon rolled around and the wedding went beautifully. Brooke proudly stood at the front with Martin while Harry and Matty walked Victoria down the aisle. The whole ceremony was a beautiful declaration of love and affection and it was one of the rare moments in this dysfunctional family's life that everything felt perfectly in its place. While Lucas also thought the ceremony was beautiful, he thought Brooke might have been even_ more_ beautiful. He couldn't take his eyes off her the whole time and she knew it – she could barely concentrate on what was going on because of it.

At the reception, Brooke watched happily from the bar as Victoria and Martin danced together with beaming smiles on their faces and as Lucas talked happily away to Brooke's grandmother. She was glad he came with her. Because she wasn't here very often, it sometimes felt like a different life, so it was incredibly special to be able to introduce someone to it.

As Brooke watched Lucas and her grandmother talk, her aunt Vivienne walked over and eyed her curiously. Vivienne was Ted's sister, and also a surgeon as it seemed that Davis' couldn't be anything else, but she and Victoria had always been close and she was the first person Victoria had put down on the list of people to invite.

"You ok Vivi?" Brooke asked curiously when she realised she was staring intensely at her.

"How did you do it?" Vivienne asked quickly.

"Do what?"

"Snag a Scott" Vivienne said as she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"Oh my god…" Brooke grumbled.

"You're right, that's a dumb question, _Brooke Penelope Davis._ That's how you snagged a Scott, by just being _you_." Vivienne said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Not only was Brooke just an all round good person, she was a Davis. A Scott and a Davis was like a surgical match made in heaven.

"I didn't _snag_ anything. Lucas and I are just—I don't know what we are to be honest." Brooke replied as she took a gulp from her champagne.

"He just seems so… _great_." Vivienne said as the stared at him as he was now messing around with Matty.

"I know." Brooke said with a smile, loving that he was getting along with her brother so well. Matty didn't warm to people quickly, so it was surprise to everyone when he immediately clicked with Lucas. Brooke figured it was probably because they both supported the patriots. Lucas seemed to get on well with Harry too, but he was a little more sceptical of Lucas. He had always been protective of Brooke, especially after Aiden died. He wasn't about to let just anybody walk into her life.

"And you're both so hot. Your babies would be hot." Vivienne observed, demonstrating exactly why people said she had no filter.

_"Vivi!"_ Brooke said with a laugh as she scolded her aunt.

Vivienne held up her hands, "I'm just saying if he doesn't put a ring on it, he's crazy—"

"He's not even my boyfriend and you're talking about rings?"

"I know, it's crazy but—I don't know what it is. There's just something between you two that makes me think this is the real deal. Congrats Brookie." She said before smirking and walking away.

Brooke didn't really know what to say to Vivienne's statement, but thankfully she didn't have to say anything as Victoria walked over.

"What are you two talking about?" Victoria asked.

"Oh, just Lucas—" Brooke said as if it wasn't a big deal.

"Oh yes, the _Scott _you brought to my wedding…" she said as she tried to hide her smile.

"I was wondering when you were going to get weird about this…"

"I'm sorry, I'm trying _not_ to be weird about it, but he's the first guy that you've been with since Aiden and it's exciting." Victoria began. She wanted to be happy for her daughter, but she knew how fearful she was and she didn't want to freak her out.

"It's new. _Very_ new. I don't even know what it is to be honest, it could wind up being nothing..."

"He came here." Victoria simply stated.

"What?"

"He came to New York for your mother's wedding. That's not nothing." Victoria said with certainty. If he didn't mean something to her and if he didn't care about her, he wouldn't have come.

"… He probably felt guilty about saying no." Brooke said, determined to downplay the significance of this.

"Well, he hasn't kept his eyes off you all night, so I'm guessing not." Victoria said. She may have been saying her vows at the front, but she was a mother – she had eyes on the back of her head – and she'd noticed the way Lucas was looking at her daughter.

Victoria watched as Brooke looked up and caught Lucas's eye as he smiled sincerely at her and she blushed before smiling down at her feet.

"Are you happy Brooke?" Victoria asked softly as her daughter looked up at her.

"Yeah. I'm happy. Are you?" she asked.

"Very." Victoria replied. It felt like for the first time in a long time, they could both say that and mean it. They'd always been floating on fine, but they were moving beyond that now and into a much better place than fine.

Harry and Matty soon joined the two women at the bar.

"Hey! There's my boys" Victoria said as she hugged them tightly. "God, you are both so handsome." She said as they moved back, and she looked at them. "I can't believe I made you."

"Have you been on the wine mom?" Matty asked as Brooke and Harry laughed.

"Hey, watch it Mr." Victoria playfully warned. "I'm glad I have the three of you here, I just wanted to say something, before we all take off in our various directions again—and I don't mean to get all cheesy and mom like on you—"

"Just spit it out mom" Matty asked, never having the patience for Victoria's soppy rants.

"Ok—I am so very, very proud of you three. You've had to deal with a lot in your lives and you've come out the other side even better people than you were before, if that was possible—" Victoria said, always thinking highly of her kids.

"It was definitely possible, I was a sucky teenager." Harry reminded her. He had always had a bit of an entitled attitude problem and it got him into a lot of bother. Victoria was thankful that there were only three run ins with the police during his time in high school.

"Well, you are a wonderful man and a wonderful son and a wonderful doctor. You have the world at your feet." Victoria said as Harry smiled softly at her. "And my little Matty Munchkin." Victoria said as she squeezed Matty.

"God mom quit embarrassing me…" Matty grumbled. He'd gotten to the age were anything his parents did was entirely uncool.

"I wouldn't be your mother if I wasn't. Thank you for keeping me sane. Thank you for being your wonderful little self." Victoria said as she fixed the front of his hair.

"Please don't cry." Matty begged.

"I'm not crying." Victoria said as her voice went up a few tones and she bit her lip.

"Yes you are."

"I just love you so much, you're my baby"

"I'm 17 mom—"

"You will always be my baby" Victoria said quietly, to which Matty couldn't help but smile at. "And you. My little girl. Who's not so little anymore, who's a doctor and who's dating a Scott—"

_"Mom_—" Brooke whined, not thinking it necessary to bring Lucas up at that moment.

"You're just—you're just _perfect_. I can't believe I had such perfect children. I'm so excited to see what the future has in store for you. Come here" Victoria said as she pulled her three kids in for a hug. "I love you very much."

"We love you too mom."

* * *

Later that evening, Lucas had dragged Brooke out on the dance floor to prove how good he was. They were swaying gently to the music as Victoria watched on carefully from the side. There was just something about Lucas that she had a really good feeling about. It was in the eyes.

Brooke couldn't help but laugh at Lucas' dancing; "You have two left feet." She commented as she tried to take the lead.

Lucas frowned, "No I don't and you would realise that if you let me lead-"

"Yes you do, you're a terrible dancer." Brooke continued, not prepared to give up the point.

"… ok fine, I'm a terrible dancer, but I am_ trying._" Lucas pointed out. "Everybody loves a trier"

"I know, and I love you for it." She said with a laugh.

Brooke looked at Lucas with a soft smile on her face. Ever since he had arrived in Raleigh, he always seemed to be a smile on her face. He always seemed to bring her joy - particularly over his terrible dancing. She felt like she never wanted this to end.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked as they finally fell into a comfortable rhythm.

"I just don't remember the last time I felt this happy and content." Brooke confessed as Lucas returned her smile. He had never felt this way about a girl. He couldn't quite believe that she was his.

"Everything just feels right." He confirmed before kissing her.

Victoria smiled softly at the scene in front of her. She was so happy that her daughter was happy. She started to tear up a little. It was like her little girl's life had flashed before her eyes and she'd missed it. She was grown up and making her own way in the world and falling in love. As she watched Brooke smile widely as something Lucas was saying to her, she instantly realised that no matter what regrets she may have had in life, Harry, Brooke and Matty were the three things in this world that she did _right_.

Brooke and Lucas soon finished their dance and Lucas walked over to the table to get them some drinks.

"Thank you." he heard a voice behind him say as he turned around and saw Victoria standing there.

"What for…?" he asked.

"For putting a smile on my daughter's face. It's been a while since I've seen her smile like that... it seems that you've just brightened up her whole world." Victoria said happily.

"I'm lucky to have her." Lucas said. Despite how good it felt to be with Brooke, he couldn't help but feel like it was too good to be true. Like something bad was coming their way.

"It's not luck. It's _fate." _Victoria replied, truly believing that Brooke had found her person.

* * *

As the party drew to a close, Lucas and Brooke made their way back to Victoria's quiet house. Matty was staying with a friend and Victoria and Martin had already left for their honeymoon, so the big old brownstone was all theirs for the night.

"I had a really good time today" Lucas said with a smile as he and Brooke climbed the stairs.

"I'm glad. I know my family can be a lot sometimes but… they're my kind of crazy if you get me." Brooke said as Lucas chuckled.

"Yeah I get you. Wait till you meet my family" he said. Brooke turned around and quirked an eyebrow.

"Introducing me to your family? Man, that's a pretty big step Lucas…" she teased, knowing how freaked out he had been at the prospect of meeting Brooke's mom and brothers.

"Very funny…"

Brooke giggled at herself and started to skip down the large upstairs hallway, causing Lucas to stop and just watch her. He had never seen her so full of light and it was just beautiful. Brooke turned around when she reached her bedroom door and eyed him curiously.

"You ok there Scott?"

Lucas nodded, "Yeah. I was just thinking that you might be the prettiest girl I've ever seen."

Brooke laughed, "All that champagne has gone to your head" she joked.

"No… I'm very alert." He said as he began walking closer towards her. He was soon towering over her and he watched as Brooke gulped in anticipation. Lucas delicately tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear before brushing his nose against hers. He was determined to take his time with her, in everything they were doing. He tilted his head slightly as Brooke lifted hers up to meet his lips in a soft but searing kiss. His hands soon held onto her face as he deepened the kiss. He never wanted the feeling he had right now to end. She made him feel complete.

Brooke moved away from him briefly and opened the door, waiting for him to move past her.

"Are you sure?" he asked, knowing in one look what she was waiting for.

Brooke smirked, "So sure." She confirmed before Lucas quickly moved into the room and pulled her in for a fast and heavy kiss.

Lucas slammed the door shut with his foot as he continued to hungrily kiss her. Within seconds, Brooke had taken Lucas' jacket off and his tie was on the floor, as she moved to the buttons of his shirt Lucas pulled back.

"Wait, wait, wait" he said as she nibbled at his jaw.

"What? Don't you want this?" she asked as she kissed him again.

Lucas nodded, "I want this. I want_ you._ But I also want to take my time" he said sweetly as he looked into her eyes and saw she was a little shocked by this. It was clear to him then that she hadn't been with many guys who cared enough to take their time and think about her too.

He carefully moved the straps of Brooke's dress down her shoulders and began kissing along them as Brooke closed her eyes and tilted her neck to the side to give him full access. He slowly lowered the zip of her dress and allowed it to float to the floor before scooping her up as her legs wrapped around his waist.

He slowly lowered her to the bed, all while kissing her softly and sweetly, fully prepared to take the time to get to know every part of her body and learn all of her sweetest spots. He sat up briefly to remove his shirt before hovering over her again, taking a moment to take all of her in. She looked angelic spread across her plush comforter. She delicately traced her fingers across his jaw and smiled up at him before he swooped down and kissed her with everything in him.

* * *

**Surely it's not too good to be true... right? Don't forget to review!**


	7. Someone Worth Knowing

**Hi everyone! Thank you for all your reviews - you guys are great. Just a little note to say that I changed a few details in chapter three - just regarding Lucas' family, nothing major, so if you want to check that out go for it!**

**For now, news about Brooke and Lucas spreads around the hospital and Karen Scott is in town... enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Seven – Someone Worth Knowing**

A week or so had passed and Brooke and Lucas were back in Raleigh and moving from strength to strength. They could barely keep their hands off one another, but were trying to do their very best to be discreet around the hospital and still hadn't put a label on what they were. Brooke had never been one to flash her relationships around and Lucas was worried about how Peyton might react. He wasn't sure if his guilt would ever subside over that situation, but he sincerely hoped it would because he was beginning to miss his friend.

Being discreet was relatively easy as they were always so busy with work. Lucas in particular was having to prepare for his boards and plan for his fellowship that would begin in a few months time. Brooke on the other hand had found herself in the ER for the past few days dealing with some of the most bizarre injuries, including a guy who got his tongue stuck in a bottle. To make matters worse, Peyton was the resident in charge and for some reason, Brooke found she was incredibly off with her, even scolding her about how she was managing the influx of patients. If took her a few hours to finally crack the system and get the order Peyton wanted and she was on hand to test Brooke.

"Davis, status report." Peyton asked as Brooke walked over.

"Uh, your MVC is in bed one waiting on an angio. I paged an ortho consult for bed 2, drunk guy in bed 3"

"Bed 4?"

"New patient, patellar dislocation."

"And bed 13?"

Brooke frowned, "… there is no bed 13."

Peyton stopped and smiled at Brooke; "Good job Davis, you passed, and your waiting room is clear. I hope you don't think I have been too hard today, it's just been a stressful week—" Peyton said, feeling awkward that they got off on the wrong professional foot, especially considering she was living in Brooke's house.

"No, I get it—"

"Not that I think you're bad at your job, but I just needed to be sure that you didn't think you could get by you your dad's merit or because you're sleeping with Lucas—" Peyton rudely blurted out.

Brooke froze; "… Lucas told you?"

"You're sleeping with Scott?" she heard a voice behind them say as she turned around to see Kate standing with wide eyes.

"Uh—"

"Oops…" Peyton said with a light-lipped smiled before walking away. Brooke clenched her jaw. It didn't go unnoticed by her that Peyton was deliberately trying to push her buttons. It was clear that she wasn't as over Lucas as she let on.

"Oops what?" Ted asked as he walked over.

"Nothing" Brooke said quickly.

"It appears Brookie has a budding romance-" Kate began as Nathan walked over.

"Romance? Are we _really_ calling it that?" he asked as Ted frowned, more confused than ever, while Brooke wished she could just curl up in a ball and die.

"It's a romance, I've seen the way they look at each other." Rachel said as she joined in and Brooke pinched the bridge of her nose. "It's definitely not_ just _about the sex, which we can all hear you having by the way, the walls in your house are pretty thin, so there's no point pretending—"

"Who are you all talking about?!" Ted exclaimed as the three others looked at him.

"Lucas, chief!" "Lucas, honey" they all said as if it were obvious.

Ted looked shocked, "Lucas Scott?!"

"Oh my god, Davis and co. family meeting, _now_!" Brooke announced as she ushered them into a side room.

Brooke started pacing the room to speak to them; "I get that all being in the same place all the time can be pretty claustrophobic, I get that we all have this _incessant _need to be up in each other's business, but my sex life should not be a part of that business!" she exclaimed.

"Don't say my sex life again please." Ted begged, not wanting to hear of anything other than his daughter's innocence. When he looked at her, he still saw a little girl, not a grown woman.

Kate laughed and shook her head, "I cannot believe you're sleeping with Scott."

"Yes, and you're sleeping with Ted and Rachel is sleeping with god knows who at this stage and Nathan – I actually have _no_ idea who you're sleeping with, but the point is, who cares?! We all do it, it's not a big deal!" Brooke exclaimed.

"I don't want you to get hurt." Ted insisted. He saw how broken his daughter was over Aiden, he didn't want her heart to suffer again.

"We're just having fun, taking things as they come. We are both consenting adults, so get off your high and mighty horse _Ted_, you slept with your _intern_ and then you married her." Brooke scolded as Rachel and Nathan stifled a laugh and Ted and Kate glared at her. Brooke and Lucas _definitely_ weren't in their league.

"… fine." Ted conceded; "but we are never talking about this. Ever."

"Oh my god, _deal!"_ Brooke said with an abundance of certainty. Her dad and her step mother were the last people she wanted to talk to about her romantic life. She quickly opened the door and left, wanting nothing more than to be out of this situation.

* * *

Brooke swiftly walked through the hospital to calm herself down from her awkward family encounter before heading back to the ER to continue working. As she walked through the hospital, she spotted Lucas working in one of the labs. When she looked through the glass a little carefully, she noticed that he appeared to be having a fiery conversation down the phone with someone. His hands were raised and his forehead was all crinkled. She couldn't hear what they were saying, she figured it was maybe about the fact that Ted had been pushing any non-emergent plastics out of the ORs over the past few days. The hospital was having some money problems and it appeared that plastics was the department suffering because of it. She watched as he aggressively hung up the phone with a sigh before sitting back down on his stool. She gave him a few seconds before she opened the door and walked over to him.

"Mad Scott returns" she said as he looked up at her.

"What?" he asked quietly as she rested her hand over his shoulders.

"Your face. You get all mad and your eyebrows do that thing—it's cute." She said with a giggle. His eyebrows were always hunched when he was mad or frustrated or just stressed and Brooke had quickly picked up on it.

Lucas sighed; "It's my mom. She's been on at me for years to come back to Boston and take a leadership role in the Royal Scot foundation and now she's ringing that bell again. That loud,_ very_ loud bell. She thinks now is the perfect time considering my residency is coming to an end." He explained as Brooke's face fell.

"You're leaving?" she asked, trying her best to keep her cool.

"No, I work here." He said a little harshly. He didn't want to take his frustration out on her but he was struggling not to let it all get the better of him. "Are you free this afternoon?" He asked, wanting to change the subject.

"I'm supposed to be in the ER but I can get someone to cover if you need me for something?" she asked.

"I have a rhinoplasty this morning with Kirk if you want in on it?" he asked, figuring that it would be a little more interesting than what she had to deal with in the ER. Brooke nodded her head in agreement. "Can you prep Mr. Preston?" he asked.

"Yeah" she agreed as she walked to the door before remembering something. "Oh, Rachel mentioned earlier that the chief is pushing any non-emergent plastics surgeries. I actually thought that's why you might be mad…" she said, completely forgetting why she was even in here in the first place.

"That's the 5th time this week." Lucas said as he angrily stood from his chair. "I never thought I'd say this but maybe mom has a point." He grumbled as he left the room and a disappointed Brooke.

* * *

That afternoon, Brooke watched Lucas from the other end of the lobby as he made a phone call. She tried to stay cool about the possibility of him leaving, but she wasn't doing all that well at it. She really liked him and they were doing really well. For the first time in a long time she felt good about something and she didn't want to throw it all away.

Rachel walked over to her; "Hey, I managed to convince the chief to do some rearranging and get Scott and Walker's rhinoplasty back on the board."

"He's on the phone with the Boston chief of plastic surgery." Brooke announced, not really caring about Lucas's surgery right now.

"Don't be that girl." Rachel sternly warned as Brooke turned to look at her. Rachel refused to let her friend be the girl who desperately pined after a boy and put him above everything else in her life.

"I have never been this girl, I don't know what's wrong with me! I am like putty in his hands. His future job is potentially being flushed down the drain and all I can think about it how I'll have to stop seeing him." Brooke admitted.

"Surely the sex isn't _that_ good—" Rachel said as they turned and watched Lucas pace the hallway.

"_Look_ _at him Rachel. _Of course it is _that_ good but – it's _more_ than that. I can't believe I am actually admitting this…"

Rachel looked at her softly. She had never seen her friend with this look in her eyes before. "You're not just sleeping with him, you really like him." Rachel observed as Brooke stayed silent. She had never been particularly open with her feelings and as much as Rachel wanted a romance to work out with Lucas, she never expected it to _actually_ work. She thought Brooke would bolt at the first sign of real feelings getting involved.

"It doesn't matter if I really like him or not, we'll never know if it has the potential to get really serious unless he stays in Raleigh." Brooke said as Lucas hung up the phone and Brooke immediately started walking towards him.

"Every step you take is a giant step back for womankind!" Rachel shouted after her. "There goes the right to vote. Roe V Wade!" Rachel shouted after her as Brooke glared.

"_Cut it out_." She said through her teeth before turning around and seeing Lucas in front of her. "So, Boston?" she asked.

"No, not Boston." Lucas said as Brooke felt a wave of relief rush through her. "My mom wouldn't want to win that way anyway." He said with a little smile. His mother really wouldn't want the war to be that simple. "If you could work anywhere else in the country where would you go?"

"I don't know… I have a withstanding offer from John's—" Brooke explained. When she accepted Raleigh, John's Hopkins told her they would always have a space open for her if she really wanted it.

"Damn" Lucas said, impressed that she could just go to John's Hopkins if she really wanted to. "Well, you never know. If we ever had to go, we could end up somewhere near each other. Wouldn't be the worst thing in the world." Lucas said quietly as Brooke smiled softly.

"No. It really wouldn't be." She said.

Suddenly, Peyton came bursting over to the pair of them and thrust her phone in Lucas' face.

"Lucas, your mom is coming to Raleigh?!" she questioned as Lucas frowned and took the phone from her, seeing that Karen had posted a photo on social media of her boarding the Scott family jet with a caption saying she was Raleigh bound.

Lucas looked up at Peyton "… you follow my mother on social media?"

Peyton snatched the phone away, "Yeah we follow each other… I'm a fan of her work, ok? She was super kind to me when she last visited, practically offered me a job at Mass Gen." She reasoned.

Brooke shifted where she stood and looked at her feet. She knew Lucas and Peyton were friends long before she met him, but she couldn't help but feel a little jealous that Peyton had met his mom and was practically _friends_ with her. How could she ever top that? _Stop Brooke. This isn't a competition. Lucas is with you now. _She tried to tell herself, but she still saw the way Peyton looked at him and she knew Lucas really valued their relationship.

"Yeah, I had no idea she was coming into town. Probably wants to try and convince me in person to move back to Boston" Lucas grumbled before turning to Brooke. "You ready to meet my mom?"

Brooke laughed awkwardly, "Oh yeah…" she said with total uncertainty as Lucas winked at her in reassurance, having no doubt in his mind that she would win her over instantly.

* * *

The following morning, Brooke burst into one of the on call rooms where Lucas was trying to nap and posed in front of him.

"How do I look?" she asked as he turned his head on his pillow to look at her.

Lucas eyed her for a moment. There wasn't really anything different about her. She had her scrubs on and her hair was down rather than up in her usual ponytail she rocked for work.

"Uh… the same?" he said cautiously, knowing that probably wasn't what she wanted to hear.

"Dude come on! My hair is down and clean and tidy and my face is actually remotely presentable." She said motioning to the minimal make up she was wearing.

"Why are you feeling the need to be presentable today?" Lucas asked as he sat up on the bed.

"Because your _mother _is coming to the hospital and I have to make a good impression." Brooke reminded him as he nodded slowly. Lucas had told Karen that he was dating someone and when she eagerly asked if it was Peyton, he awkwardly said no and told her, her name was Brooke, but that was all she knew – and Karen had high standards. "I need to look smart and classy and relaxed to give off the vibe of 'I know I'm am merely a 3rd year resident who is dating your dynasty preserving son, but before you write me off as a gold digger, I am a Davis and a kick ass surgeon, and your son is lucky to be dating me.'" She said, clearly having rehearsed that line.

Lucas chuckled as he stood up and held onto her waist. "You are putting far too much pressure on yourself." He told her honestly.

"Would you believe me if I told you I can be a tiny bit of a people pleaser?" she said, mocking herself.

"Oh really?" Lucas said, pretending to be surprised. Brooke hated letting people down, and this situation was certainly no different.

Lucas pulled her closer towards him so their chests were touching and delicately tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. "She's going to love you." He assured her before leaning down and kissing her. His hands started to roam up the back of her shirt and Brooke immediately deepened the kiss. She soon discarded his shirt before Lucas scooped her up and pushed her against the wall. He dipped his head down and began kissing along her neck, eliciting some quiet moans from Brooke. He really had learned all her sweet spots already.

Suddenly, the door flung open and Lucas' head lifted while they both looked at the figure standing there like two deer caught in headlights. They were almost frozen in time as Lucas held onto her tightly before gulping.

"… hi mom" he greeted awkwardly as Karen Scott looked at them, entirely unimpressed that they had been caught in this position. He gently lowered Brooke down to the floor as she desperately tried to fix herself and Lucas put his shirt back on.

_"Lucas_. Where are your manners?" Karen said, breaking the silence that filled the room.

"Mom, this is Brooke Davis, Brooke this is my mom Karen Scott." Lucas introduced.

"It's nice to—" Brooke began, holding out her hand to shake hers, but Karen interrupted her.

"Dear. Would you mind handing me the pillows from the top bunk?" she asked.

Brooke awkwardly took her hand back before walking over to the bed and handing her the pillows with an uncomfortable smile on her face. Karen took them, gave Lucas a smile and left the room.

"… I don't think she got my smart, classy and relaxed vibe." Brooke said awkwardly as she hid her head in her hands.

"At least she didn't walk in a few minutes later…"

_"Oh my god."_ Brooke muffled in her hands as Lucas engulfed her in a hug, trying to get Brooke to see the humour in the situation.

* * *

After taking a moment to breath before he got mad at his mom about what was going to go down, Lucas walked into one of the board rooms Karen had perched in and was already getting disapproving looks from Karen. She hadn't even given him the opportunity to ask about Keith or Lily - and he sensed she wasn't going to. She was here with an agenda and she was going to see it through.

"Mom—" He began, but Karen beat him to the punch.

"You are aware of the name that you carry Lucas?" Karen asked, perching one hand on the table and the other on her hip.

"She's a Davis mom—" Lucas argued, trying to use Brooke's words to win her over. Brooke certainly wasn't a nobody. Not that her name matter to him, but he knew it would matter to his mother. A name in the surgical world meant a lot of things to a lot of people.

"And you think that cancels it out?" Karen asked as Peyton knocked on the open door.

Karen smiled, "Dr. Sawyer, it is lovely to see you again" she said as she walked toward Peyton and kissed her cheeks.

"It's great to see you too Dr. Scott" Peyton said as she looked at Lucas who was clearly frustrated. "You ok Luke?" she asked with a frown.

"Peyton you would not _believe_ the _fuss_ I had to go through to see my son…" she said shooting him a disapproving look.

"Can we not do this, please?" Lucas asked, not really in the mood to fight with Peyton there.

"What happened?" Peyton asked.

"What do you know about Brooke Davis, Peyton?" Karen asked as Peyton raised her eyebrows.

"Well she's good enough for Lucas to dump me for." She joked.

Karen turned and looked at Lucas completely shocked as Lucas clenched his jaw. He reminded himself to thank Peyton for that one later…

"Lucas Eugene Scott!" she began scolding as Peyton let out a laugh.

"_Eugene?"_ she questioned. "I'm sorry, I'm just kidding, Lucas and I would never have worked out anyway." Peyton said, trying to brush the whole thing off, even if she didn't really believe it. There was still something there – and they both knew it.

"Oh yeah, just two friends who know everything there is to know about each other, who hold the same passions in life the same drive, the same experiences, the same mentalities. You're both brooders and a_ fine_ pair." Karen reasoned.

Lucas momentarily looked at Peyton who gave him a soft smile as if to say 'yeah, this is awkward, but she's not wrong. We are two good friends who are compatible in every way imaginable' – and Lucas knew it was true. Was he missing out on something good with Peyton because of a spark he thought he felt with a girl he didn't know that long?

Lucas shook his confliction out of his head before turning back to his mother. "I have a job to do, we will talk later."

"No, we will talk _now."_ Karen insisted.

"I'll catch up with you later Luke…" Peyton said as she moved towards the door, not wanting to be a part of this awkward conversation.

Once Peyton had left, Karen swiftly closed the door and stood in front of her son. "This hospital is going under Lucas, you need to get out of here." She warned him as Lucas crossed his arms over his chest.

"I can't say that I'm the sort of person who just abandons ship when it takes on a little bit of water." He reasoned.

Karen rolled her eyes, "Now is not the time for you to be a martyr Lucas—"

"I'm not being a martyr I'm being fair. This is a great hospital. A top 10 hospital, Chief Davis runs this place exceptionally well, not to mention all that I have been able to learn from Kirk Walker. He's setting me up to take over the entire plastics department when he goes, I reckon that's a pretty good job to take rather than constantly being someone's understudy in Mass Gen."

"If this is about that girl—"

"That girl is called Brooke, mom, and I would appreciate it if you could show her the respect she deserves. She is an amazing person and an amazing doctor and she is going places on her name and her name alone." Lucas said, wanting to fight for Brooke and the person that he knew she was. "I know you probably think she's some sort of gold-digger but I can assure you, she has a hefty trust fund waiting for the taking—"

"Ok, fine, we'll remove Dr. Davis from the equation." Karen said, not wanting to hear about how wonderful this girl was anymore. "If she's not wants holding you back – why stay?"

"I have the opportunity to help a lot of people mom. Nobody comes to Raleigh to be a surgeon, let alone a plastic surgeon. I want to do some good here and I know you'd want that too." Lucas took a step forward and spoke quieter to his mother. "Don't become him mom. Don't become Royal. You may not be related by blood – but he has the power to have this hold over us and we need to fight against it. He's about making money when the foundation should be about saving lives." He reasoned, as Karen was at a loss for words on what to reply.

Lucas let out a breath before swiftly walking past his mother, wanting to give her time to stew over what she came here to fight for and whether it was really worth it.

* * *

"She's pretty much convinced herself that I'm a gold digger trying to use sex to nab herself an Scott." Brooke explained to Rachel as they walked down the hallway. While Karen had never said that to her – considering she didn't really say anything at all – Brooke was jumping to some pretty big assumptions. She had always been good at reading people, however, and she could see it in her eyes. She was fiercely protective over who Lucas let into his life because of who he was, and that meant she was going to push back against Brooke with everything in her.

"Dude, you're Brooke frickin Davis, if anyone's using sex to nab someone, it's Lucas." Rachel argued.

"You know the really sad thing about it? I actually think we'd get along. She's an amazing doctor, an amazing woman and she has _zero_ respect for me and, it hurts. It actually physically _pains_ my _chest." B_rooke over dramatized as she slumped her shoulders.

"Ok, here's my piece of advice for the day." Rachel said as they stopped and looked at each other. "You're right, you would get along, everyone gets along with you and you need to tell her that. You need to stand up for yourself. A strong woman will respect another strong woman."

Rachel froze for a minute before becoming sheepish again; "I don't know I feel like the best thing to do when you walk into a hornet's nest is to just stand still and let the whole frenzy die down—"

"_Brooke_!" Rachel exclaimed, not impressed with her friend's sheepishness. "You are _not_ this girl. You are strong, you are bold, you have a voice and you deserve to be heard." Rachel said firmly as Brooke stood there wide eyed. "Ok?"

"Ok..." Brooke replied in a scared whisper. "Geez it's like talking to my _mother_" she teased as Rachel smacked her butt and pushed her forward.

"Go forth and conquer sweetie!"

* * *

Evening soon came around and Brooke had finished with her last patient for the day. She walked into the lobby with a sigh to return her charts. Her previously bouncy and beautiful hair had fallen flat as she threw it up into her usual statement ponytail. As she tied the hair tie around it, she saw Karen standing at the desk, waiting. She hadn't found the strength to speak to Karen yet, but she knew Rachel was right. She needed to conquer her fears and prove to Karen that she was someone worth knowing.

_This is it Brooke. This is your moment to be heard. To stand up for yourself. _She took a breath as she strided confidently towards Karen.

"Dr. Scott, do you have a minute?" she asked.

"I'm meeting my son Dr. Davis, it's been a long day." Karen said, not paying her any attention.

"I just think we got off on the wrong foot. I know how it looked when you walked in on us earlier—"

"I'm not sure you do—"

"Oh, no, I do." Brooke said surely. "It looked like I was well on the way to having a quickie with your son in an on-call room." Brooke said boldly as Karen finally looked at her with wide eyes. "It looked like I had no respect for myself or for this hospital or for Lucas. I made sure that my hair looked nice today and that I didn't look at tired as I feel because I knew I would be meeting you. I have never done that before, for _anyone_." She said with a little laugh. She didn't even make that much of an effort when she met Aiden's parents. "Meeting Lucas's mother meant something to me. I care about him, and if all you're going to think about when you see me is that I was the girl making out with your son in a hospital—then you're wrong to think that. There are so many other things about me that are so much more interesting than that. I am no gold digger. I finished top of my class at med school. I am a damn good surgeon and someone you should be proud for your son to date."

Karen looked at Brooke with a sense of awe. She didn't really know how to respond to her declaration. Luckily for her, she didn't have the chance to as Lucas walked over with a concerned look on his face, surprised that Brooke and his mother were actually talking – or more that Brooke was talking _at_ Karen.

"Hey…" he greeted cautiously as he placed a hand on the small of Brooke's back. "What's going on?"

"Nothing." Brooke said. Figuring that Karen had nothing to come with to her little monologue. "I'll leave you guys to it" she said, flashing him a small smile before going to leave.

"Brooke" Karen said, finally properly addressing her. "What's your hurry? I'm buying the first round at Tric."

Brooke's stance softened as she felt the tension leave her body. She nodded softly at Karen.

"Sounds great. I'll go grab my things." She said before heading to the resident's lounge.

"So, you've finally thawed a little towards her?" Lucas asked his mother with a smile on his face.

"I know this is probably shocking to hear coming from me but… she might just be the best thing to ever happen to you Lucas." Karen said, admiring her fire and her brawn and her brains. "_Don't screw it up_."

Lucas was at a loss for words over his mother's approval, but at the same time he wasn't surprised. Brooke was amazing and he didn't doubt that his mother would see that if she took the time to actually get to know her.

"Oh, and another thing…" Karen began. "You were right about wanting to stay in Raleigh. This hospital is doing good things and it would be a pity to see it fall down."

"So… you're ok with me staying?" he asked.

Karen nodded her head, "Yes, I am ok with you staying… now that the foundation owns the hospital and you're going to run it."


	8. Uneasy

**The anticipation of things going wrong seems to be getting to you guys! Which is definitely part of the fun ;) **

**How does Brooke feel about Lucas and the Scott Foundation owning the hospital? How does _Ted_ feel about it? Find out now...**

* * *

**Chapter Eight – Uneasy**

"I can't _believe_ your mom bought you a freakin _hospital_." Brooke mumbled in wonder as she and Lucas lay in Brooke's bed one morning, staring at the ceiling.

Lucas was stunned into silence when Karen told him what she had done. He let her and Brooke talk up a storm at Tric all night about anything and everything while he sat and said nothing. He _couldn't_ say anything. He didn't know how to process this. He was a resident and his mother wanted him to run a hospital? It was _insane!_

As soon as they had gotten home that night, Lucas immediately told Brooke what she had done and she was also stunned into silence. When they woke up the following morning, they just looked at each other before looking up at the ceiling, still in a state of shock.

"My mom can barely buy me_ lunch_ without pulling the whole "you're an adult now Brooke, you need to be independent, I can't buy you lunch for the rest of your life." Brooke rambled, as Lucas said nothing. She turned to look at his silent face. "Hey. Where's your mind at?" she asked softly.

"They'll hate me." Lucas mumbled, knowing that the other board members and senior staff of the hospital wouldn't be happy that a resident was their boss.

"They won't hate you—"

"I'm a resident, I'm a nobody, they've all worked so hard to get where they are and then my mommy swoops in and buys it out for me, just so she can feel validated in letting me stay here." He snapped, seeing right through his mother's supposedly good deed. It was ultimately a really selfish move.

Brooke didn't blame Lucas for feeling this way. She had spoken to Kate last night after Lucas had told her and she said Ted and the other board members were fully prepared to treat him like the kid he was. Although Ted was still chief of surgery, he may have to report to Lucas and the Scott foundation at times - and he wasn't necessarily prepared to report to a kid. Ted also pulled the whole 'He may be a smart kid but he's smart kid who has also been sleeping with my daughter' bit, much to Brooke's frustration. It appeared he would look for anything to reason with not listening to Lucas.

"You're being dramatic—" she tried to reason, but he wasn't prepared to listen.

"This is going to be the day from _hell_." He groaned.

They sat in silence for a few more minutes before Brooke spoke again; "You need donuts."

"Donuts?"

"Everyone loves donuts."

Lucas looked at Brooke with a little smile. "I'm not even sure donuts can save me on this one." He said as he pecked the tip of her nose affectionately. "I am _definitely_ in over my head on this one."

"You're not exactly an idiot Lucas, you're going to be a fellow in a few months, you're set to take over the plastics department, you were just given something you never expected to get—" Brooke tried to reason.

"I can't do this." Lucas said, still not listening to what she had to stay as he got out of bed and frantically started pacing around the room.

"Stop—" Brooke said as she got out of bed to face him.

"I can't stop, I don't have time to stop, I need ideas and solutions to the money and staffing problems and everything in between so they don't think that I'm an incompetent idiot!"

"_Lucas!"_ Brooke shouted as she grabbed him by the shoulder to stop him pacing. "Screw that. That's_ not_ what this hospital it about. This hospital is about saving lives. This hospital is about the people in it. You need to find a way to bring to life the reason that you are all able to sit around the table and make those big decisions. You need to find a way to embody the spirit of what makes this hospital what it is. Nobody is expecting you to have all the answers, but they can expect you to bring the life back into this hospital. Show it off Lucas. Show off what we're all about."

Finally, Brooke's words sunk in with Lucas—and he had an idea.

* * *

_13 days_. It had been 13 days since Brooke finally got through to Lucas. 13 days since he had spent any meaningful time with her that wasn't over a sliced open abdomen on an OR table. It was really starting to drive her crazy, but she didn't complain. She knew he was stressed with this whole hospital running thing and she knew he was trying to pull something together, but she just wished he would talk to her about it.

She was standing in the surgical wing's lobby that Thursday morning looking at some charts when Lucas got off the elevator – with Peyton. That was another thing that was driving her a little crazy. He always seemed to have time to talk to Peyton about whatever he was planning. It hurt a little knowing that he trusted her opinion about it all more than he trusted her. She watched as he smiled and hugged her quickly. Brooke looked away in an attempt to not let it frustrate her further. Brooke didn't think Lucas would ever admit it, but there was this unspoken thing between him and Peyton and it was something that didn't appear to be going away any time soon. There was just something in Lucas' eyes when he looked at Peyton – it was like he hadn't fully gotten over what they had.

Lucas knew that Brooke was beginning to get a little suspicious about his relationship with Peyton. He did jump into something with Brooke pretty quickly after Peyton and maybe he wasn't completely over it because it never felt like a definitive end, but he really cared for Brooke. He really liked her and when he was with her, he didn't want it to end. They'd never had the 'label' conversation, it didn't seem to be a big deal to them, but they were for all intents and purposes boyfriend and girlfriend. However, he would be lying if he said he didn't have a lot of what ifs with Peyton.

When Peyton walked away from him, he spotted Brooke and suddenly remembered that they had a date planned for last night – and he didn't come home and he didn't call. He cautiously walked towards Brooke who looked up when she caught him in her peripheral vision.

"I forgot about last night. We were supposed to have dinner and sex. Or just dinner, the sex could have been all in my mind. Or it could have been in your mind too, but it doesn't matter, it didn't happen, I forgot, I'm remembering right now, and I feel terrible." Lucas awkwardly rambled.

"Ok…" Brooke merely mumbled, a little taken aback by his ramble.

"I am going to make it up to you tonight." He insisted as he kissed her cheek and walked away, before Brooke could say anything else.

* * *

That afternoon, Brooke sat in the resident's lounge, poking around her lunch with her fork. This whole Lucas thing had been on her mind all day and she really didn't know how to take it. She felt like a total idiot for letting her feelings take over, but she figured that it maybe meant she was human after all and that she was capable of something more than lust.

"Earth to Brooke? _Hello?"_ Rachel asked as she waved her hands in front of Brooke's face, snapping her out of her trance. "What's your deal Davis?"

Brooke sighed, "Nothing, just thinking about Lucas."

"What about him?" Rachel asked as she sat on the couch beside her.

"How do you know if someone is worth the trouble?" Brooke asked cryptically. Rachel knew all too well that this was probably about Lucas being unavailable because of his new found role and his newly restored friendship with Peyton, but she would wait for Brooke to say that and for now, she would give as much reasonable and vague advice as she could.

"Well… what's so great about him?" she asked.

Brooke shrugged; "I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"No, I _do_ know, I just—I've never had to say it out loud before. It's a little weird. I don't think either of us intended for it to get so serious so fast. We were just having a little bit of fun and then all of a sudden—he's basically my boyfriend." They still hadn't had that talk, but they both felt really good and positive about their future.

"These things happen, and it's not a necessarily a bad thing... you're allowed to love again Brooke." Rachel reminded her.

"I know, I know." Brooke insisted. "He's smart." she started, deciding to do her best to answer Rachel's question. "We can talk about anything and be on the same level. He gets the job, he gets the pressures of it but… it's more than that. He's kind, he's not a douchebag, he actually cares about how I feel. He pushes to be the best version of himself. Though… he doesn't always bring out the best version of me" Brooke confessed.

"What do you mean?"

"I feel like I'm getting stupidly paranoid over nothing." Brooke said as she rubbed her eyes, trying not to let her tears fall. "He's pretty close with Sawyer and they had a thing and it's all just a little messed up and… I don't want to get hurt" she said honestly. He had told her that he and Peyton were over, but she wasn't blind. She saw the bond that they still had.

"Has he shown interest in Peyton?"

"Not in front of me, but he's going to her with his problems now and I just feel redundant when he has her." Brooke said.

Rachel held onto her friends hand, not really sure what to say. She liked Lucas, she really did, but she was worried. She was worried that he would lose his head when it came to Peyton and do something stupid, but what else could she tell her friend than to trust him?

"You have to learn to trust him Brooke. He's with you for a reason. Maybe then you'll find yourself being… yourself." she advised as Brooke nodded slowly, hoping that Rachel was right.

* * *

Lucas had texted Brooke that afternoon and told her he would meet her at Tric after work, but now—Brooke was frustrated. She had been sitting on her own for over an hour, waiting for him. She had a day of people at work – mainly Kate and Peyton - talking over her and pushing her around and treating her like anything she had to say was invaluable and she wasn't in any mood to be pushed around now by Lucas either. She was better than that, she deserved better than that.

When Lucas showed up, he approached her with a gulp, knowing she would be annoyed. She wasn't the silent type, it something was wrong, she would say it. He wasn't sure he was prepared to tell her that he had been with Peyton talking through this whole hospital thing. Peyton knew him better than most people did. They went through their whole residency together, and she completely understood how this was all taking its toll. He valued her opinion and he missed having her around.

"I know, I'm not the most available—" Lucas began but Brooke held up her hand to stop him.

"I need you to shut up." She said honestly as Lucas was instantly silent. "It's cause you're head of the hospital now, right? That's why you haven't called me in 13 days? God, I am _not _this girl, I _hate_ myself right now that I know how many days it's been." She said with a scoff as she ran her hand through her hair. "I am not Brooke Davis anymore, I'm this weird girl who gives a crap what Lucas Scott thinks of her. I am not this needy and obsessive girl, let's be clear about that." Brooke rambled.

"I know Brooke, but if it's any consolation, I really care what you think about me too—"

"Is that why you've been going to Peyton with your problems instead of me?" she challenged as Lucas fell silent again.

"We've just been talking about a few things… she gets it Brooke. She gets me and it's not that I don't value your advice but – you'd want to talk to Rachel about some things over me, right?" he asked as Brooke didn't say anything, not wanting to validate his point. "It's just the same with Peyton, she's my best friend – "

"A best friend that you slept with and started to develop feelings for and the whole hospital knows she is pretty much in love with you." Brooke grumbled. "You know what… this isn't even about Peyton. This is about you and me so just – just tell me why it's been 13 days."

"Because I'm head of the hospital—"

"That's _not_ an excuse for standing me up. All you had to do was text me. I deserve to be treated better so either do that or let me go." She said as she let out a breath and her rage turned into momentary sadness.

Lucas looked at the woman in front of him. After holding back and letting her do her thing, he finally got his chance with her and here he was—screwing it up. She was amazing, she was smart, she was beautiful, she was bold, and he couldn't ask for anything more. He knew that no matter what happened with them, he would never be able to fully shake this girl from his system. She would always be a part of him.

He quickly cupped her cheeks and kissed her with everything that was in him to show her how much he cared. Neither of them doubted they were falling for each other, they just weren't sure if they were ready to admit it and Lucas wasn't sure he knew how to let Peyton go.

* * *

A week or so later, Brooke was walking through the ER when she felt someone poke her sides causing her to jump.

"Hey" Lucas greeted as he quickly kissed her cheek, stopping at the nurse's station while she dropped off her charts.

"Hey" she replied happily.

"What are you doing tonight?" he asked.

"That depends… are you going to ask me to come to this gala you're throwing tonight?" Brooke asked as Lucas's face fell. He'd been meaning to ask her weeks ago, but he'd only managed to get around to it now.

Lucas's big idea that he had been working on for weeks was to throw a gala to try and schmooze people into investing in the hospital and show them what it was all about. The Scotts knew how to throw a party, so they were optimistic that it would pay off.

"Right… That is what I was coming to ask you." He made clear. "I'm sorry I didn't get to ask you sooner—"

"It's ok, you run a hospital now, you're busy" she playfully teased.

"… I swore I would never use that excuse again." Lucas reminded her.

"I know, that's why it's funny." She said as she patted his chest.

"I just wanted to make sure you knew that this isn't going to be fun, it's just going to be sucking up to a bunch of rich people—"

"I'm an excellent suck up, I'll probably get more money than you will." Brooke boasted.

Lucas quirked an eyebrow "… is that a challenge?" Lucas asked.

"If you want it to be." She replied with a daring smirk.

"Alright Davis. You're on. May the best schmoozer win." He said as they shook hands.

* * *

The evening and soon rolled around and while everybody went home to get ready for the gala, there was a weird feeling in the air. Everyone felt a little on edge, but no one could really put their finger on why, yet they all felt it.

Brooke stood in her bedroom staring at her reflection in her floor length mirror. She loved being able to get dressed up. She felt like she hadn't done it in ages. She barely had time to shower in between work. Yet, as she stood and looked at her hair and make-up, she couldn't feel excited. She couldn't feel beautiful.

There was a knock at the door as Nathan walked in.

"Hey, we're all downstairs, you ready?" he asked.

"Yeah. Just give me a second." She said.

Nathan eyed her curiously. He could tell something was bothering her. "You ok?"

Brooke turned around and looked at him. "I know it probably sounds really dumb, but ever since I was little, every time something bad was about to happen, I got this really weird feeling before it. I always feel really uneasy and unsettled."

"Ok…" he said, not entirely sure why she was telling him this.

"I have that feeling right now." She said quietly.

Nathan nodded, unsure what to tell her. It was often hard to ignore a gut feeling about something.

"It's just a gala Davis. What's the worst that could happen?"

* * *

A short while later, Brooke and Lucas walked into the gala arm in arm. They were amazed by the extravagance of the whole thing—it definitely wasn't what Lucas had in mind when he hired the planner. He wanted an elegant event that showcased the care and comfort the hospital had to offer. The planner appeared to go with a carnival theme that was so over the top.

"Now this looks a lot more fun than work." Brooke said with a smile. So much for it being boring schmoozing.

"Yeah it does… it's not exactly what I had in mind." He admitted as he watched the acrobats around the room.

"If you hadn't invited me to this and I found out it was _this_ crazy, I would have been _so_ mad." Brooke confessed.

She looked all around her, and her eyes fell on Peyton – who had her arms draped around a guy.

"Hey, who's that guy with Peyton?" Brooke asked as Lucas looked over and immediately clenched his jaw.

"Jake Jagelski" Lucas merely said before he took Brooke's hand and walked over to the pair. "Hi" he greeted courtly as they both turned to look at them.

"Lucas, hi!" Peyton said as she quickly hugged him. "You remember Jake, right?" she said as Jake and Lucas shook hands, though Brooke immediately picked up on the tension between the pair.

"Of course. It's been a while Jagelski" Lucas said, trying to be polite, but it was clearly difficult for him.

"Not long enough." Jake shot back.

"Uh – this is Brooke Davis" Peyton introduced, seeing as Lucas clearly had no intentions of doing so.

"Ah, Chief Davis' daughter, right? I've heard great things about you, you're the superstar of your year." Jake complimented as Brooke smiled.

"Oh, I don't know about that…" she said as she blushed a little.

"Trust me, my sources don't lie" He joked as Brooke laughed a little.

"Excuse us, we're need a drink" Lucas said as he held onto Brooke's hand a little tighter and pulled her towards the bar.

"Uh… what was that all about?" Brooke asked as Lucas lifted them two glasses of champagne.

"Jagelski used to be in our residency class, but he moved hospitals in our 4th year. The guy is an asshole, he was constantly undercutting anything I did, constantly took credit for things that he had nothing to do with. God he just makes me squirm, I can't believe Peyton would bring that guy here." Lucas said as he turned to order another, slightly stronger drink.

Brooke nodded her head. She knew exactly why Peyton wanted to bring Jake here – she knew she would get a reaction out of Lucas for it.

Brooke decided that she was just going to ignore this little scenario and focus on the situation at hand – schmoozing investors. She looked around the room and spotted a man who was staring straight at her with a small smirk on his face. She felt a little uncomfortable that he was staring at her like that. She then remembered the bet she made with Lucas and thought maybe this guy would be a good target. All she had to do was be nice to him for a few hours.

"Hey, who's that guy over there?" she asked Lucas as he looked in her direction.

"Isaac Martin. Huge investor, he has shares in a lot of hospitals." Lucas told her.

Brooke looked up at him and smirked; "I think I just found my target" she said as she started to saunter towards him.

"Brooke—" Lucas said, not entirely comfortable with the thought of her flirting with a bunch of men all evening.

"Don't even pretend like you're not going to get your flirt on tonight Lucas, your whole _being_ is a flirt." Brooke said as she motioned his whole body. One look in those baby blue eyes and women were sunk—they were _intense_.

"I am not a flirt—"

"Don't even try to talk your way out of this one." Brooke warned. "And don't worry, I promise you're the only person I want to be taking me home tonight." She said as she walked back towards him and kissed his cheek.

* * *

Lucas had been irritated all night. While Jake and Peyton had been all over each other all night, Brooke had been all over Isaac Martin all night in an attempt to get his cheque book out. He had never been the jealous type. He hated it when people got jealous over him, but this was really rubbing him up the wrong way. Both scenarios were rubbing him up the wrong way and he really hated himself for it.

He shook thoughts of Peyton out of his head and tried to focus on his girlfriend. He knew she was just being friendly and trying to get the hospital some money, but no one could be that friendly for that long without it being intentionally flirty… right? He knew he was over thinking the whole thing, and if anything, it just demonstrated to him how much he cared about her.

He was about to walk over and interrupt them when it happened. Isaac leaned forward and gave Brooke an unsuspecting kiss. Brooke quickly moved back, but Lucas didn't pay attention to that. His girlfriend had just kissed an investor. Brooke's head shot around to look at Lucas who was seething in anger.

"Lucas" she mumbled under her breath as Isaac eyed her curiously.

Lucas took a breath before turning around and leaving the hall, but Brooke was quick on his tail.

"Lucas" Brooke called as she rushed out of the hall after Lucas. She had never intended for her schmoozing to get that far. She didn't want him to kiss her at all.

"I'm too old for drama Brooke—" Lucas complained as he stopped and turned to look at her.

"Are you kidding me right now? Have you even met me?" In what part of his mind did he think she enjoyed drama? That she enjoyed the situations she had been forced into.

"You're pissed at me for not inviting you to the gala until today, then you were desperate to beat me you thought you'd make out with that guy—"

"Oh my god _no _and _gross_. You are seriously grasping at straws for an issue here-"

"So you're not pissed at me?"

_"No_. I mean I was confused why you hadn't invited me but then you did_. He_ kissed_ me_ Lucas, I don't know where it came from, I did not ask for it. I _swear._ You know me Lucas, I don't just give myself freely to whoever wants it. You are the first guy that I have let in since Aiden." Brooke reasoned.

Lucas looked at her for a moment, knowing that what she said was completely true. Being with him was huge for her. She wouldn't just throw it away like that.

"Ok. If we're going to do this, we can't get irrationally mad at each other and jealous for no reason. We need to talk to each other, we need to communicate." Lucas said to himself more than anything.

"And not kiss potential investors in the hospital?" she tried to joke as Lucas smirked.

"You're crazy."

"That's why you love me, right?" she teased, as they both fell into an awkward silence. She didn't mean to bring up love, it just kind of playfully rolled off the tongue.

"Love?" Lucas asked with a gulp, not knowing what to say.

"Oh I—I didn't mean it like that—just—just kiss me." She said as he bent down and did exactly that.

* * *

Lucas tried his hardest to enjoy the rest of his night with Brooke, but his guilty conscious and jealous streak was getting the better of him. He felt like the world's biggest asshole for how he had treated Brooke tonight. He tried to turn her into the problem when he was guilty of so much worse. He was still pining after Peyton.

While Brooke chatted to Rachel and Nathan, Lucas stood hunched over the bar with yet another whiskey in his hand.

"Look alive Luke. It's a party" he heard a voice say beside him as he briefly looked over and saw Jake standing there.

"Piss off Jagelski."

"Wow, that seems a little harsh."

Lucas stood up straighter, "You really do not want to push me right now."

"Oh yeah? Because you'll crack? You can't contain your anger over me and Peyton?" Jake challenged as Lucas held his glass that little bit tighter. "News flash Luke – you moved on, so Peyton moved on. You can't blame her for that. So don't hate me just because you couldn't hold on to the one good thing in your life, all because you're weak—"

Lucas slammed his glass down on the table, turned around and punched Jake square in the jaw, causing him to fall to the floor and for the group of people around them to jump back. Lucas launched forward and grabbed Jake by the collar.

"You don't think I have what ifs?! You don't think I question my decision everyday?!" he exclaimed as Brooke felt her heart drop to the pit of her stomach.

Jake shoved Lucas off him as the pair stood staring at each other, and everyone else stood around them in shock – including Brooke, Peyton, Rachel, Nathan, Ted and Kate.

"You've got an audience Lucas. What now?" Jake asked with a devilish smirk on his face, realising the predicament Lucas had gotten himself into with a few explosive words.

He looked around him before his eyes fell on Brooke, seeing how broken she was. What the hell had he just done? He could never dream of hurting her, he was falling in love with her, but he was a fool who couldn't get Peyton out of his head.

"Lucas… do you want to be with Peyton?" Brooke asked quietly.

Lucas gulped, feeling tears form in his eyes. "Brooke, I—I-" he said, stumbling over his words. He had no idea what he wanted, he didn't know what to do. He felt like a damn fool and he knew there was nothing he could say to ease this situation.

Brooke took his silence as his answer. He wanted her. He wanted Peyton and she was not about to play second fiddle to anyone. She knew her worth, she didn't have time to play games.

"I _never_ want to see you again." Brooke said sternly, before swiftly leaving the hall, feeling completely and utterly humiliated.

* * *

Brooke made her way to the steps outside the building in a complete daze. She sat down, trying to process what had just happened. Lucas had spent all this time worming his way into her heart, building up her trust, only to trip the rug out from underneath her and say he still wanted Peyton. How did this happen? How was this fair? It all happened so fast and she really did not know what to feel.

She felt a jacket fall over her shoulders and looked up to see her dad standing there.

"Come on honey. Let's get you home." He said as Brooke just let out a breath and looked straight ahead again.

"Why me?" Brooke asked quietly as Ted sat beside her.

"What do you mean?"

"Aiden died. Lucas chose his ex in a very public and humiliating manner. What have I done to deserve this? I have the job, the friends, the family… but I just can't find someone to love me." She said as Ted's heart broke for her.

"What happened to Aiden and what Scott did is not on you. Life is cruel, and it is mean and you are a good person and one day, you'll get everything your heart desires." Ted boldly told her. He truly believed that was the case.

"I don't know about that… but I don't want to talk about it. Can we go home?" she asked sheepishly.

Ted gave her a soft smile. "Yeah. Let's get you home." He said as the stood up and Ted wrapped a protective arm around her as they left the hospital.

* * *

**BRUCAS IS ENDGAME. **

**But they have some stuff to work through first...**


	9. The Demons Within

**So - I wrote this story and even I hate Lucas a little bit lol but hopefully you won't for much longer! ****This is a Brucas endgame story and I PROMISE you won't have to wait long for some sweetness and fluff!** **It's so cool seeing you all so invested.**

**The next few chapters are largely from Brooke's perspective - as is the whole story really - so there really will be no Pucas to suffer through. A mention here or there, but this story is not about them. That doesn't mean that Lucas is going to disappear. He has a lot to make up for and a friendship to repair!**

**For now - there's a little time jump in this chapter, Brooke works to get her power back, Lucas is desperate to make amends and there's a new doctor in town...**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Nine – The Demons Within**

**2 MONTHS LATER**

It didn't take much for Brooke to convince her dad to let her take an extended leave of absence. She felt like it was a long time coming, but now she was desperate to get away. She was desperate to escape and sort her head out. She spend a little over a month in New York with her mom and brothers before coming back and spending the final few weeks hyping herself up to come back to work. She hoped the distance would make her stronger, but she was still scared over what she might encounter when she got back. Lucas had been trying to contact her non-stop, but she wasn't one bit interested in hearing it. Rachel had told her that she verbally kicked him in the balls over what he did and made sure that he and Peyton had packed their bags from Brooke's house. Brooke hated to think it, but she wasn't too sure she was ready to have a fairly empty house again.

She came down the stairs of Ted and Kate's house the Monday morning she was due back at work. She had been hiding out at their house as part of her avoidance strategy, but she knew it was time to come out into the real world. She knew it was time to face her demons and humiliation and just get on with her life. She refused to let anybody make her feel like less than she knew she was worth.

As soon as she opened the door to the kitchen, Ted and Kate were standing there with sympathetic expressions.

"Don't look at me like that." Brooke mumbled.

"Like what?"

"Like my boyfriend just ran off with his ex at a public hospital event." Brooke said as she said at the island and rested her head in her hand. She had no clue what happened in the aftermath of the gala between Lucas and Peyton - but she was fairly certain she could assume he picked her. She didn't really give him much choice in the matter anyway.

"Sorry." Ted apologised as he pushed a plate of banana pancakes in her direction. "So, back to work today?"

"Do I have to?"

"It's been two months, maybe it's time to get back to it and not let him put your life on hold." Kate suggested.

"I'm not convinced I won't punch Lucas in the _nuts_ as soon as I walk through the door. Did you know mom almost got on the plane with me, so she could do just that?" Brooke told them as they looked at her wide eyed. As soon as Victoria heard what happened—she was _livid_. Lucas seemed so kind and steady and not someone who would mess with her daughter's heart and he did just that - in the most public way imaginable.

"Well she can join the queue." Ted said bitterly. "Harry, Matty and I are next." Naturally, Brooke's brothers got overprotective on the issue and the whole Davis clan had practically waged _war_ against him. You could say a lot of things about them, but the Davis' certainly were a loyal bunch.

"I just—I just don't know if I can face it." Brooke said seriously as she pushed the pancakes around her plate.

"Yes, you can." Ted encouraged her. "You are Brooke Penelope Davis, you can get through anything."

"I feel like an _idiot_." Brooke said in a whisper as her eyes filled with tears.

"The only idiot in this situation is Lucas Scott. Go to work and kick surgical ass." Kate threw in. She and Brooke may have no always seen eye to eye, but she really felt for her step daughter in this situation. She also considered lining up to punch Lucas in the nuts.

"Will you have my back?" she asked them sheepishly.

Ted nodded;_ "Always."_

* * *

"If she doesn't want to talk about it, then we're not going to make her talk about it." Rachel warned the other residents before Brooke arrived in the hospital that morning.

Bevin held up her hands; "All I'm saying is that it's been two months and we haven't been able to get one _scrap_ of intel on what happened with Sawyer and Scott? They're avoiding each other, Brooke's avoiding us and _nobody_ is saying anything!"

"That's because it is none of our business!" Rachel warned. She had no clue what was going on with Lucas and Peyton. No one did. Lucas had just started his plastics fellowship while Peyton was now a trauma attending and that was all they seemed to be focusing on. They seemed to be avoiding each other in the hospital. Like something bad had happened. But no one knew because no one had the balls to ask.

"Everybody in this hospital is always up in each other's business, Rachel—"

Before Rachel could protest further, Brooke quietly walked into the resident's lounge and Bevin jumped to her feet.

"oh my gosh Brooke, hi! You came out of hiding." She said semi-happily, semi-sympathetically.

"I haven't been in hiding…. Okay, I've been in hiding, but time heals wounds or _whatever._" Brooke said as she put her stuff in her locker.

"Really?" Rachel asked quietly as Brooke looked at her, trying to see through her words.

"Really." Brooke insisted. She wasn't sure how this day was going to go, but she was sure that she was going to approach it boldly. She was here to do what she loved, not _mope_ over Lucas.

As everyone around them scattered, Rachel and Nathan walked over to Brooke.

"We've got you Davis. Always." Nathan told her confidently as Brooke nodded her head and gave them her best mustered smile.

* * *

Brooke's day started off relatively smoothly. She was focused and she'd managed to avoid talking to anybody about anything other than medicine. It was around mid-day when Lucas started to walk in her direction that she felt her strong exterior crumble. She was going to try to ignore him, but she wasn't convinced he would ignore her.

"Brooke, I've been trying to call you—" he said once he spotted her.

"I really don't want to talk right now." She insisted as she tried to move past him. She noticed he was now in his attending navy blue scrubs and she really _hated_ that he looked so good in them. He looked good in the light blues ones too, but there was something about the navy ones that really just made his eyes pop.

"Brooke, I need to explain—"

"You telling me how guilty you feel only helps _you. Not_ me." She said harshly as she quickly walked away.

Lucas sighed before turning around and coming face to face with Rachel, who was glaring right at him.

"Something I can help you with Dr. Gatina?" he asked.

"You couldn't have given her a heads up? In the months that you were seeing each other, she was worried about Sawyer, she asked about it and you didn't say_ anything._ Brooke freakin Davis, the most _perfect_ girl in the world was worried about _Sawyer_! Were you just waiting for the right time to publicly humiliate her?" Rachel exclaimed.

"I have been trying to apologise to her for months now. She walks away the moment she sees me coming. I am _miserable_ about what I did to her. I had no idea I was going to do it." Lucas defended.

"Still, Brooke's alone, Sawyer's alone, you're alone. _Everyone_'s miserable. Seems like it all worked out pretty well, doesn't it?" Rachel retorted before pushing past him and down the hallway to find Brooke.

She soon found her sitting on a stairwell, tears flowing down her cheeks. All it took was one small encounter with Lucas to send her over the edge. Rachel rushed towards her and sat beside her.

"Are you ok?" Rachel asked her as she wrapped an arm around her friend.

"It's all my fault. I knew I shouldn't have gotten involved with him. I knew it was a mistake and I did it anyway. It's so hard being here around him and—I am not a quitter… but maybe I should go to New York—"

"Leaving is _not_ the answer." Rachel said firmly. She wasn't about to let her friend be run out of this place by someone else's mistake. "He took advantage here,_ not_ you. He knew your vulnerability, he knew your past and he threw it back in your face. You shouldn't let him treat you as if you're expendable because—you're _amazing._ You're one of the _best_ people I know and if Scott can't see that then that's his loss. But you deserve better and you're going to get better. I just know it."

* * *

A few days later, things seemed to go from bad to worse for the doctors at Raleigh Med. The tension over Brooke and Lucas' failed relationship had caused a number of anonymous complaints to roll in over sexual misconduct in the hospital, forcing Ted to essentially outlaw any new relationships that hadn't been signed off by human resources – including Rachel's budding relationship with one of the orthopaedic surgeons, Johnny Lincoln.

Despite everything Rachel had told Brooke on the stairs the day before, she assumed Brooke was the one to make the complaint.

"You do realise this means I can't see Johnny anymore_,_ right?" Rachel asked her bitterly.

"I'm pretty sure they just said it was anonymous." Brooke reminded her. She was jumping to pretty big conclusions here.

"Yeah, _right_." Rachel said, not believing that it wasn't her. There was no one else who was in a position to make a complaint like that. Brooke sighed as she felt yet another person drift away from her for something that wasn't her fault. She turned around and saw Kate walking towards her with a sympathetic smile.

"Hey, about this complaint—" she began, also thinking it was Brooke who made it.

"You people _really_ don't understand the meaning of the word _anonymous."_ Brooke mumbled. She really didn't have the energy to fight against this.

"I just wanted to say I'm here for you if you want to talk about it—"

"Who said it was me?" Brooke asked.

Kate looked confused; "It wasn't?"

"_Anonymous_ Kate." Brooke reminded her, before walking away.

* * *

That afternoon, Brooke was working in one of the side rooms with Bevin when Rachel barged in bearing a grudge, but also a real concern for her friend. After a secret meeting in a supply closet with Johnny, she unfortunately managed to find out the truth behind Lucas and Peyton's relationship.

"I'm really sorry for what I'm about to say and I want you to know that I'm not trying to be mean, but I think that you should hear it from me." Rachel said quickly.

"Ok…" Brooke agreed slowly.

"Lucas and Peyton are together."

"… what?" Brooke said quietly. Rachel had walked in on them furiously kissing, revealing that they were being a lot more coy about their relationship than anyone assumed. While Brooke was a little upset by this, naturally, she was also kind of relieved that everything that happened wasn't for nothing. She figured it was just natural instinct to want what was best for others over herself. Also, she'd walked away from Lucas, it was unsurprising that he took this as an opportunity to see things through with Peyton.

"Yeah. It seems that because you took the choice away from him, he took the opportunity to see if he and Peyton are meant to be." Rachel told her a little harshly.

"So this is my fault? It's my fault that he lied to me and it's my fault that decided to announce in front of the whole hospital that he still had feelings for her?" Brooke questioned.

Rachel sighed, "That's not what i'm saying. Look, I know that you were trying to punish them when you made your complaint, but they're _fine_ Brooke. The only one who is being punished is _me_. This is going to force Johnny and me apart, do you know how long it took me to find a decent guy around here that didn't just want to get me into his bed?" Rachel asked. "And you know what Brooke – when you go through a break up, you talk to your friends and we _will_ get you through this, that is a_ promise_ – but you didn't need to file a complaint!" Rachel reasoned.

Brooke eyes glistened with tears as it was her turn to snap at Rachel; "I don't know how many times I have to tell you this, it was an anon—"

"Anonymous complaint." Bevin completed the sentence. "What is even the point anymore... it was me, ok? I filed the complaint. You guys are so wrapped up in your love lives that you can't see that our education is being compromised." Bevin said, revealing her reasonings. All this relationship drama and tension was beginning to affect the job they came here to do. "God, I don't even know why I bothered, somehow it's just made everything worse! We came here to be surgeons, but you guys couldn't seem to care less about that right now." Bevin angrily said, coming clean about the situation before Brooke and Rachel really lost it.

Rachel, Bevin and Brooke sat in an uncomfortable silence as they look a moment to gather themselves. This whole thing was a complete _mess_. They were allowing their focus to drift to unimportant things and not focusing on what they came here to do—to be the best surgeons they could be.

Brooke wiped her tears away before clearing her throat; "This job is a privilege and a gift and we are_ royally _screwing it up. I think it's about time we took our power back and did something worthwhile with it."

Rachel and Bevin nodded, knowing that Brooke was entirely right. It was about time they showed this hospital what they were made of.

* * *

The following morning Rachel was walking towards the entrance of the hospital with two coffees in hand. As she walked through the door, she managed to bump straight into the person she was looking for—Brooke. She extended one of the coffees in her direction.

"Peace offering." Rachel explained. "I'm really sorry about what I said. One minute I was on your side and the next I was acting like I wasn't, and I was a complete jerk. If you had been the one to make that complaint—I should have been more understanding."

"It's ok. Really." Brooke said sincerely. "If it was me, I would have been a little pissed off too. But I uh—I heard you got busted."

Johnny and Rachel hadn't been as stealth as they thought concerning their relationship in the hospital, and Ted had caught them red handed, and was now keeping Rachel away from paeds.

"Yep. I have to miss out on my education, so they can keep me on a separate floor from Johnny."

"See, I want that rule. If I find myself in a room alone with Lucas, I'm afraid I'm going to nut punch him. So, every time he has a consult in the ER today, I'm taking a break." Brooke explained as she moved a bit of dirt beneath her with her feet.

"You shouldn't. That is not the Brooke Davis I know. The Brooke Davis I know would just nut punch him. We'd all want to see that." Rachel joked as Brooke chuckled lightly, but her smile quickly fell from her face.

"He chose her, Rachel. One day he's with me and then the next day it's like I never existed. So, what the hell was I all that time that he could just forget about me?" she asked.

"Lucas Scott is a piece of garbage and I swear Brooke if you start forgetting that I will smack you." Rachel warned as Brooke chuckled.

"Alright, I won't forget it…" she said as Rachel walked the opposite direction.

"Good!"

Brooke smiled down at her feet, glad she had made amends with her friend. She was so focused in her own world that she ran straight into someone, causing him to drop his files everywhere.

"I am so sorry—" the man quickly apologised as they both bent down to pick everything up.

"No, completely my fault, I shouldn't have been walking so fast and blindly—" Brooke said as she finally looked up and looked the stranger in the eye. _He was cute._ He didn't look much older than Brooke and he had fair hair and the most piercing hazel eyes. He gave her a light smile and then continued to pick up the pages.

"I should really look where I'm going more often."

"Seriously, don't apologise." She insisted as the stood up.

"You seem far too nice to be a surgeon. Every other surgeon that I've bumped into in this hospital has almost bit my head off." He joked.

"Surgeons are egotistical maniacs it's in their DNAs to be stand offish. I, however, grew up surrounded by surgeons. I know what makes them tick and I know that being grouchy will get you nowhere." She replied with a laugh.

"The new face of surgery" he said.

"That would be me" she joked back. "You new here?" she asked, not recognising the man in front of her.

"Yeah I'm a new neuro attending. I'm Julian" he introduced.

"Brooke." She responded with a smile as they shook hands and Ted walked around the corner.

"Ah! There you are Dr. Baker." Ted said to Julian.

"Dr. Davis" He greeted back.

"And the other Dr. Davis" Ted greeted Brooke. "How are you?"

"I'm ok, ask me at the end of the day though, I just got here..." Brooke said.

"I see you've met our new neuro attending." He said turning again to Julian.

"It appears so" Brooke said with a smile.

"You said the other Dr. Davis?" Julian asked, wondering the connection between the two.

"Yes, this is my daughter. Did you know that Julian is the son of George Baker, the neurologist? He's changed the face of medicine as we know it. " Ted asked Brooke. _Great, another surgical dynasty, that's just what this hospital needs _– Brooke thought.

"No, I only got a first name. Very cool. I should get going, have a lot of work to do. It was nice to meet you Dr. Baker." Brooke said, flashing in one more smile before walking away.

"You too Dr. Davis." Julian replied, already intrigued by her.

"She was a good person to bump into, she will make you feel right at home" Ted informed him as they walked in the opposite direction.

"Good to know…" Julian said as he briefly turned to look back at her, already intrigued.

* * *

She didn't know why, but meeting Julian had put Brooke in a good mood. He seemed really nice and he just made her feel _calm_. As she pushed a heavy supply trolley through the ER, her mind was completely occupied by the new handsome attending—so occupied that she ran straight into Lucas with the gurney, smacking his knee and causing him to fall.

"Oh my god!" Brooke exclaimed as she covered her mouth in shock.

Kate quickly rushed over to him as Lucas tried to stand up, but his knee gave way. Brooke then rushed over and helped Kate as Lucas leaned on them and hobbled into a bay.

"I'm fine, ok?" he insisted, a little embarrassed that his ex-girlfriend had taken his out with a_ trolley_.

"I am _so_ sorry" Brooke sincerely apologised. She really didn't mean to hit him (as much as she had fantasised about it).

"No, no you warned me to stay out of your way." Lucas snapped.

Brooke glared; "I didn't do this on purpose."

"Brooke, I'm about to take his pants off, go be someplace where you won't be a danger to others." Kate told her as she sighed and left the bay.

So much for being in a better mood. As she closed the curtains behind her. The other nurses and doctors started clapping for her.

_"Good job Brooke" "Way to go Dr. Davis"_ she heard various choruses off.

Clearly, she wasn't the only one who thought Lucas deserves that just a little bit…

* * *

Brooke made her way up to the OR gallery to find Rachel, who was observing Johnny's surgery. She was supposed to be in on this one, but their new rules meant she was on the bench.

"That should be you down there." Brooke told her as she sat down.

"Who cares? I'm doing an organ recovery. Did you hear about the new neuro attending? I heard he's super-hot" Rachel asked as she wiggled her eyebrows, immediately thinking Brooke could have found her rebound boy.

"Yeah, I met him actually. My dad already worships the ground he walks on, it's like Kirk and Lucas all over again." Brooke said with a little laugh.

Rachel looked at her and noticed she looked relatively happy for the first time in the past while. Was it do to with this guy?

"Looks like someone has a little crush…"

"No—"

"Oh come on! He's hot, you're hot, the perfect match!" Rachel insisted.

Brooke shook her head. "Not interested." The last two relationships she had didn't work out too well for her, so she wasn't about to jump into another one just yet.

"My _ass_ you're not interested. This is the perfect thing to get you out of your post-Lucas _funk_."

Brooke grimaced; "Can we not talk about my dating life?"

"You need to make Lucas jealous. Fill him with regrets." Rachel said, trying to empower her a little to show Lucas that she was better off without him.

"He and Sawyer are walking around here like Cupid has shot them in the ass with _multiple_ arrows, I don't think he has any regrets." Brooke grumbled. Truth be told, she hadn't really seen them together, but she'd heard the stories and that was more than enough to make her want to barff.

_"Yet_. You're Brooke freakin Davis, he's going to eventually have regrets." Rachel insisted as Brooke chuckled and rolled her eyes.

"Is this seat taken?" a voice asked them as they looked round and saw Julian standing there with a smile on his face.

"N—no, sit." Brooke awkwardly insisted as Rachel subtly nudged her with her elbow, trying not to get excited. "Rachel, this is Julian Baker, the new neuro fellow. This is Rachel Gatina"

"Nice to meet you" Julian said as he shook Rachel's hand. "So, your dad told me earlier that you come from a surgical dynasty." He said to Brooke.

"Yeah, we're a bit of a staple in the medical world." Brooke joked.

"More like a tourist attraction" Rachel added.

Julian laughed and smiled, "Must be a lot of pressure on your shoulders. To make sure the good name is maintained… how to you make sure they call the right Davis for stuff?

"We have nicknames…" Brooke revealed as Julian raised his eyebrows.

"Oh really?"

Brooke nodded, "Yeah there was one time when my mom and brother, who normally work in New York, were both here performing surgeries and my god did that get confusing."

"What are the nicknames?"

"Dad just gets Chief, my brother got Prince Charming, my mom got Devil Davis – she gets a little crabby in the OR and I get cheery." Brooke told him as he let out a laugh.

"Those are quite the nicknames."

"There were a few other rather choice ones given to me too… Personally the She Davis 2.0 is my favourite. There was also Satan, the devil spawn, Cruella." Brooke told him as he raised his eyebrows, not getting devilish vibes off Brooke at all. Brooke's mood swings were normally pretty spectacular.

"How did you go from cheery to that?" he asked.

"She's always been cheery, people who don't know her judge her unfairly when what really is unfair is her cheeriness." Rachel told him as Brooke swatted her.

"Stop it" she said with a laugh. "It's a long story that's really not worth telling. How are you finding your first day?"

"It's been ok. I think I'm going to like it here." He said, flashing Brooke a devilish smile before leaving the gallery.

Rachel and Brooke both sat back in their chairs, unsure what to say at that moment.

"Ok" Brooke said, trying to avoid Rachel making any more comments about Julian. "I have to go to HR and fill out an accident report form." She said.

Rachel furrowed her eyebrows; "What did you do?"

"I hit Lucas with a supply trolley" Brooke said with an unsympathetic shrug as Rachel tried to hold in a laugh. Instead, she subtly gave Brooke a fist bump before she left.

* * *

Brooke made her way up to HR and quickly filled out her accident report form. Just as she was about to finish, Lucas walked into the room and froze.

"I uh—I can come back" he suggested as he started to back away.

Brooke sighed. She wasn't going to be _that_ petty, she had one more section to fill out. "It's fine, I'm almost done." She explained as he nodded slowly as sat down beside her. "How's your leg?" she asked, figuring she should show at least a little compassion. She really didn't mean to do it.

"My _knee _is fine." He clarified. "How about you? How are you?" he asked quickly.

Brooke shook her head; "I didn't see you coming—"

"That's not what I meant—"

"I know." She just didn't want to answer his question.

"I'm sorry Brooke. Will you please let me say that to you? Okay? I am _so sorry_. I had no idea I was going to do that. None. I told myself that I didn't want her, that Peyton didn't want me and you and I w—Brooke, you are so—" he said, trying to find the right words, but couldn't.

_"Don't. Don't_ do that." She didn't need him trying to be nice to her, she just needed him to leave her alone.

"I'm trying to say that I didn't see it coming. There's no way I wanted to hurt you and I don't know how I can make it better—"

"You_ can't_." She made clear. "You know, for the first time in a really long time I was _pitied_ when you did that. I've only been pitied two other times in my life. The first time, I was 16 and my parents just broke up and people felt sorry for the girl who tried so hard to keep something that was never meant to be, together. Second time, I was 18 and my boyfriend just died in a car accident and people pitied the teenage girl who gave _everything_ to this boy and then he was _gone_. Now, I was suddenly the girl who wasn't good enough or just not deserving enough. That's a pity look I've _never_ gotten before because I am _not_ that girl."

"I know that. Look, you can hit me with as many trolleys as you want to, because I'm going to feel terrible about this for the rest of my life. Brooke, I really did love you—"

"No, _no."_ she said as she stood up. This was not that time that he should be saying those words. He couldn't even say those words to her when they were together. "You didn't. If you loved me, you wouldn't have done that to me. You were just holding on to your options to make sure you chose the right one and apparently that's Peyton which is fine - just don't stand here and expect me to be happy for you when you trampled on me to get there." she said fearlessly, but Lucas wasn't convinced Peyton was the right choice, but it was who he was with at this moment in time and that had to count for something.

"You know what? I'm not going to be pitied anymore." Brooke continued. "I'm not going to feel like less than I am just because one person made me feel that way." She said boldly. For the first time in a long time, Brooke felt the strength that everyone around her had been trying to convince her she had. "I'm not going to care about you anymore Lucas. Whatever we had—it is _nothing_ now. So if I don't say hello or make small talk or even acknowledge you—it's because you don't mean _anything_ to me anymore. Goodbye Lucas." She said as she handed the form over to the receptionist and left the office.

* * *

That night, Rachel and Brooke decided to go to Tric for a drink to celebrate the old Brooke coming back. She didn't realise it would take her actually having it out with Lucas to feel better about the whole thing. She finally felt like she was getting her power back.

"Vic" Rachel called to the bar tender as they walked into the bar; "We will take 2 of your finest tequila shots because this girl is a true _hero_."

Brooke laughed; "and this girl is the best sidekick I could have asked for."

Rachel laughed and got their shots for them.

"Cheers"

As they downed them, Rachel almost choked on hers when she saw someone walk up to Brooke.

"Brooke hottie to your left…" Rachel mumbled as Brooke looked round and saw Julian beside her.

"Hey, could I get a beer?" He asked Vic. "You know, it's a pity" he said, turning to Brooke.

"What's that?" Brooke asked.

"That you're my boss's daughter."

"And why is that a pity?"

"Because I _really_ want to ask you out." He confessed as Brooke and Rachel's eyes widened.

_"Oh_. Well, it's also a pity that I don't date doctors." She teased as she got up from her stool. "I'll see you around Baker" she said with a smirk before walking towards the door.

Rachel sat there stunned for a few moments, before smiling at Julian and quickly walking out of the bar after Brooke.

"What was that?!" Rachel asked when they made it outside.

"Nothing" Brooke said with a shrug.

"He has clearly taken a shining to you and _boy_ am I jealous. The hot, young, neuro attending—_damn."_

"I don't date doctors." Brooke said, making her new rule abundantly clear.

"Uh… hate to break it to you Brookie, but last time I checked, _Lucas_ is a doctor…" Rachel reminded her.

"He's the reason I don't date doctors."

Rachel nodded; "Ok, ok, be boring like that…"

"You're the one who's being screwed over at work for dating Johnny!" Brooke reminded her.

"I'm trying to get you back on the horse!" Rachel whined.

"I am perfectly_ fine_ being _off _the horse. Come on." Brooke said, for the first time truly meaning it. They laughed lightly before linking arms and walking away from the bar, ready to start afresh.

* * *

**Next chapter, Brooke struggles with her feelings for Julian and reluctantly asks Lucas for some help when Peyton causes some damage...**


	10. The Cynic Within

**Thank you for all your reviews again! Your anger over Pucas is a joy to read lol the countdown begins to a sweet Brucas reunion, but that certainly doesn't mean we're going to have no good moments before then...**

**For now, Brooke struggles with her feelings for Julian and reluctantly asks Lucas for some help when Peyton causes some damage... enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Ten – The Cynic Within**

A few days later, Brooke and Rachel were walking through the hospital corridors when they saw Julian coming in their direction. Brooke grabbed Rachel's arm and pulled her into the nearest room before Julian could see them. When they stumbled back to the correct footing, they realised they were in a rather cramped supply closet.

"OK, do you need something in here or are you deliberately trying to avoid the hot neurosurgeon who is so _beyond_ into you?" Rachel said, again stressing to Brooke the big deal of this.

"He's only known me for a like a _week,_ he can't be super into me, he knows_ nothing_ about me!" Brooke protested. She knew better than to jump into something so quickly again. It didn't get her very far the last time.

"Do you realise how rare it is to have a connection with someone so quickly? You guys were vibing and I have a good feeling about this one Brooke" Rachel said with a smile.

"You would have a good feeling about anyone I dated." Brooke said with a laugh. Rachel was desperate for her to feel love and have it last and restore her hope in relationships. She figured it would be a hard task, but she had a feeling that Julian was a good one.

"Eh no. I did_ not_ have a good feeling about Lucas"

"_Liar."_ Brooke said, Rachel had been a big supporter of her and Lucas—right up until the gala that is. She had him move into their house for crying out loud. "And I shouldn't drag him into my crap—"

"You do not have _crap_ Brooke, you've been through some tough spots and he will understand that!"

"But Aiden and Lucas are the problem!" she said frantically as Rachel frowned.

"What do you mean?" Rachel asked, not getting her random outburst.

"I've been thinking about this for the past few days as I have _expertly_ avoided Julian. He seems really nice and he likes me and I just—I can't give in to him because of Aiden and Lucas. I know it's been 10 years since Aiden died and I have been moving on with my life but— the thought of me finding someone who was as great as him scares the_ crap_ out of me. I'm scared to feel that way again because it _broke_ me the last time. I thought Aiden and I would be forever and forever was incredibly short and it's just—it's _hard_. Doing this without him." She confessed. Brooke rarely spoke about Aiden to anyone other than her parents and for a while Lucas, so this felt a little strange, but Rachel was her best friend. She always had her back, she knew she could rely on her.

"I know I didn't know Aiden but from what you've told me about him—I reckon he would be the first person to tell you that it's ok to love someone else." Rachel encouraged. "Life always throws crap things in your face, there's no escaping it. But love makes everything better. You can't live like a ghost for the rest of your life." She reasoned.

"I know… and I decided not to when I started this thing with Lucas. I got fixated on _one_ butterfly in the pit of my stomach when I was with him and I let myself fall for him and it came back to bite me in the ass because I was so careless. I _can't_ be careless again. If I'm going to do this, I need it to be right." She said with certainty. She wasn't prepared to just jump into _anything._ Not again.

"You're never going to know unless you try. It might end up being the greatest thing that's ever happened to you." Rachel encouraged. For all Brooke knew, Julian could have been her person. He could be the one (if there was such a thing).

"And what if it's all too good to be true?" she asked, the cynic in her still remaining strong.

"Brooke. Shut up."

"You shut up..." She mumbled back with a pout.

"I'm not the one being _ridiculous_."

The door suddenly opened causing the two doctors to jump and Kate appeared in front, giving them a disapproving look.

"Something tells me that you two did not come in here for medical supplies" she said with a knowing look.

"You look really nice today Dr. Grant." Brooke said, turning on the infamous Davis charm.

"Nice try._ Go_" she said as Brooke and Rachel quickly left the closet.

As they walked into the hallway, Brooke saw that Julian was now standing at the nurse's station in the lobby. She looked at Rachel who just lightly nodded her head in encouragement and that was all Brooke needed. It had been two months since everything went down and she deserved to be happy. She deserved to find her person. She had to believe that the pain love caused was nothing in comparison to the joy it brought. She could take is slow. Maybe that was the problem with Lucas, maybe they hadn't been slow enough, but this time she was determined. She was determined to make sure it was right.

"Hey cheery" Julian greeted when he saw her, remembering she had told him her nickname last week. Brooke smiled sweetly back at him. There was something a little strange about hearing Julian call her that and not Lucas.

_Focus Brooke. He's not Lucas. He's better than Lucas._

"I was hoping I would run into you actually. Do you fancy getting a drink later?" Julian asked boldly. He had been toying with asking her out for a while and decided in the end that she was most definitely worth it. He wasn't prepared to let someone so great slip by him.

"Uh, yeah, but I'm pretty busy—" she said vaguely. If Rachel could see her right now, she would be scolding her beyond belief.

"You ok?" he asked, seeing that she appeared a little sad and nervous.

"I'm fine" she insisted.

"Are you sure?" he pried, not wanting to walk away from her when she really wasn't ok, but also not wanting to push her to talk about something she didn't want to talk about.

Brooke smiled softly at him; "You wouldn't want to know."

"Try me." He said, returning her smile as a way of showing her that she could trust him.

Brooke thought about it for a second. She hated saying it out loud, but she did like Julian. There was something about him that made her trust him. She knew honesty was the best policy and she wanted any guy that she was involved with to know what he was getting himself into. "Uh… around this time 10 years ago my boyfriend was killed in a car accident. I saw him afterwards, he was fine, but then all of a sudden, he wasn't." she explained.

"I am so sorry" he said softly, not knowing she had gone through something so horrible.

"It's ok. It's just _strange._ Back then, I never even really thought of the possibility that I wouldn't be with him for the rest of my life. That it was possible for there to be someone else out there for me." She confessed. This time of year was always hard for Brooke, especially since she was throwing another guy into the mix of all the chaos in her love life.

"It's hard when your relationship didn't end because either of you wanted to end. It was just taken from you." He sympathised.

"Yeah. I mean, it's been a long time since and I've come a long way from the first little while after it happened but—I'm still working on it. I probably always will be. I just struggle not to let this define me as a person." She said. Brooke couldn't remember the last time she was this honest with someone. Wait… she remembered perfectly well. _Lucas_. Look how that ended. Brooke cursed the cynic inside her. Every time she thought of Aiden she felt a little twinge in her heart – and she was beginning to feel the same twinge when she thought about Lucas.

Brooke could see in Julian's eyes that he knew this would always be something painful to Brooke and he respected that. "This won't define you Brooke. It will refine you, but not define. It's not the end of your story. You'll be able to look back on him one day with a smile on your face."

Brooke smiled. She already did smile when she thought about him. It was just in the midst of her own heartbreak and fear that the sad memories were brought back. They stood in a comfortable silence for a brief moment while Brooke thought about his previous offer. He'd been so kind and respectful since they'd met. What harm was one drink? Even as friends?

"You still up for that drink?" she asked.

Julian's face lit up; "Yeah, but no pressure—"

"No, I want to." She insisted.

"Ok… but just friends of course, cause you don't date doctors. Why is that again?" he teased.

"I uh- I dated an doctor in the hospital just before you got here and it didn't end so well." She explained as Julian raised his eyebrows. The halls of this hospital were gossip hungry and he was surprised he hadn't heard about this before.

"Oh. That is some of the gossip I _didn't_ hear. Though, I preferred not to listen if it was about you. I wanted to have my own, unbiased opinion." He charmed.

"That's very noble of you." She joked.

"What happened with the guy? If you don't mind me asking"

"He uh… he ditched me at the hospital gala for his ex. He got in a fight with her date then pretty much confessed that he wanted her over me." Brooke explained. It was arguably an exaggerated version of events, but it's how she had interpreted them. It was also the first time she'd really recounted the story without being in floods of tears and it felt oddly empowering.

Julian froze for a moment. Peyton and Lucas' story was a story he had heard—but he had no idea that Brooke was the girl Lucas left.

"Scott? Scott was the doctor?" he asked, almost in disbelief that Lucas would let her slip away.

"Yeah." Brooke said simply as she lifted her things. "I'll meet you at Tric?" she asked, not wanting to discuss Lucas any further. She didn't want him to take over her life.

"Great… and I promise I don't have any ex's who I am in love with and I have no intention of going to a hospital gala either." He said as he held up his hands and backed away.

Brooke laughed; "Good to know."

* * *

Brooke sat in Tric later that night waiting for Julian. She was nervous. Her foot was tapping on the stool. It had been a while since she had felt this nervous. _What was it about this guy?_ She remembered the day they had met, when she first looked at him. She took a minute to study his face and there was just something about his eyes. She immediately was getting lost in them. Lucas had told her that you can tell a lot about someone by looking in their eyes.

She was shaken out of her thoughts when the very man she had been thinking about walked over to join her.

"Hey, I just ordered you a beer I didn't know if you would have wanted anything else..." Brooke began, but Julian turned her head and cut her off with a kiss. It was short and soft and tender and _perfect._

Brooke sat there stunned for a few minutes before she managed to say anything else. "um, a thank you would have been enough..." she mumbled out.

"I like you. I really like and it's like your forbidden fruit or something which makes it worse but..." he rambled. "I like you and I know now isn't the best time for us but that's ok. Cause I'll wait." He told her.

"I-" Brooke didn't know what to say.

Julian simply smiled. "Goodnight Brooke Daivs." he said as he left the bar.

Brooke turned back to the bar and looked up at Vic who had his eyebrows raised.

"Don't give me that look" She said as she downed her drink. _What was she getting herself into?_

* * *

The following morning, Brooke rushed downstairs to tell Rachel what had happened, but when she got there she only found Nathan eating breakfast with Haley James. Haley was one of the new interns at the hospital and she and Nathan instantly hit it off. They were so sweet together and they were starting to make Brooke believe in love again.

"Why hello Dr. James…" Brooke said giving her a suggestive smirk.

Haley giggled, "Good morning Dr. Davis… I should get going or I will be late for rounds. I will see you both at work" she said as she stood up and quickly kisses Nathan. "Bye" she said quietly before disappearing.

"You know, I like her, she's good for you." Brooke said as she poured herself some coffee.

Nathan chuckled "I'm glad she had the Brooke Davis seal of approval. What about you? Has anything happened with the new neuro guy yet?" he asked after Rachel had made a comment in passing about it.

Brooke filled Nathan in on everything that had been going on with Julian and what just happened at the bar and all Nathan could do was laugh. Typical Brooke finding herself in hot bother with another guy.

"Not going to lie, that was kind of smooth." Nathan said, referring to the kiss Julian had just given her.

"It's crazy... he makes me feel nervous and I don't remember the last time I felt this nervous about a simple drink with a friend." Brooke said as she paced behind Nathan while he washed some dishes.

"Because it's not just a simple drink with a friend. You like him" Nathan said stating the obvious. He had never been one to beat around the bush.

"I- I don't like him we're just hanging out" Brooke said, clearly in denial. She seemed to be getting herself into a habit of liking a boy, denying it and then instantly falling for him.

"It's ok to admit you like someone Brooke..." Nathan encouraged. Sometimes it did feel like she was talking to a brick wall whenever he tried to give Brooke or Rachel advice, but he hoped something would go through eventually.

"How did you know Haley was the one for you?"

Nathan smiled. "It's in the eyes. When we first looked at each other, it instantly felt right. It felt like I was staring into the eyes of someone I could love forever. I still look in her eyes now and fall more in love with him than I thought possible."

Brooke smiled. She loved the love that Nathan and Haley had for one another over the past few months, it was fast but it was perfect and it was pure and it was unconditional. She just wondered if that was the love she could ever have herself.

"I... I come with a lot of baggage." Brooke grumbled. Not thinking it was possible.

"You do not have a lot of baggage. You've been through a lot, but that doesn't make it baggage. It only makes you stronger. Don't push Julian away because you're afraid of the way he makes you feel. That feeling is not easy to find. _So don't let it go_."

Brooke let out a breath and stood up straighter, "You're right. You are so, so right." She said definitively. "I'm chasing after love. I'm doing it! Sure love bit me in the ass the last time, but it can't keep happening right? The universe_ owes me_ some good!" Brooke said confidently as she went towards the kitchen door. Before she could open it, however, someone on the other side did it instead.

SMACK.

The door hit Brooke in the face at an almighty force.

_"SHIT!"_ Brooke exclaimed as she held onto her nose in desperation.

A figure poked her head around the door with wide eyes and grimaced.

"Oops…" she said as Brooke briefly opened her eyes and saw Peyton staring back at her.

_Fan-fucking-tastic._

"Uh… Peyton just needed to collect a few things she left in the move" Nathan explained with an awkward laugh as he quickly handed Brooke a teatowel to try and stop the blood that was now pouring down her face.

"Yeah, and to give me a broken nose apparently!" Brooke exclaimed in frustration before storming out of the kitchen to deal with her bloody nose.

* * *

An hour or so later, Brooke quickly rushed through the hospital, desperately trying to hide her face. She had her hood up and sunglasses on as she made her way round to the lab she knew Lucas would be in. He was the _last_ person she wanted to go to for help right now, but she was desperate. Kirk had gone back to New York and Lucas was the best there was. She soon walked into the lab and spied Lucas at the other end.

"Hi" she said as she walked towards him.

"Hey…" he replied, surprised to see her. "Are you—are you hiding from someone?" he asked, referring to her clothes.

"Yes. No._ Sort of._" She rambled. "Look, I wouldn't ask unless I was desperate but—I kind of need your help." She asked sheepishly.

"Of course." Lucas said quickly. He would do pretty much anything to get back in her good graces.

"So, this morning, I was talking to Nathan in the kitchen and I went to leave but Peyton was on the other side and she opened the door before I could get there and smacked me in the face…" she explained as she took the glasses and hood off to reveal her very bruised, slightly askew nose.

"Damn cheery…" Lucas said as he walked towards her to look at it.

"I'm fairly sure it's broken, and every time I move in the slightest bit, I am almost reduced to tears so… please fix me." She begged as her eyes started to water with the pain.

"Ok, let's get you some pain killers and an x-ray first." Lucas instructed. "I'm sorry this happened to you." he said quietly. Of all people to break her nose of course it had to be Peyton.

"Yeah it appears you two just_ love_ to make me collateral damage." She snapped before turning and walking towards the x-ray room with Lucas in tow, hoping they could at least be civil.

* * *

A short while later, Lucas walked into the exam room that Brooke was waiting in with her x-rays in hand. He couldn't quite believe that she actually came to _him_ for help, but he was thankful that they were actually talking—even if it was just about her nose.

"Ok, good news, I don't think you're going to need surgery. It's only a small fracture and I can reset it here—" Lucas said as he put the x-rays on the board to show her.

"Dear _god,_ I think I'd rather be put under." Brooke moaned, knowing that it was going to be painful.

"Do you want me to call your dad?" Lucas asked.

"No, if I lash out when you reset it, I'd much rather lash out at_ you_ than him." She teased.

Lucas chuckled; "Fair enough… do you want to do this now?"

"Yeah, let's just—let's just get it over with." She said as she lay back on the bed. "And Lucas I know this is probably some form of sweet revenge for you after I hit you with a gurney, but I swear to _god_ if you screw up my nose—"

"Brooke, I know this is a bold ask coming from me but—trust me. You will have a perfect nose again." He assured her.

"Ok, ok, just do it." She said as she closed her eyes. "Oh god, oh god, oh god"

Lucas sighed and stepped back; "It's true that doctors make the worst patients."

Brooke quickly sat up; "Here's an idea, how about we break _your_ nose then get me to reset it and see how you feel!"

"You would probably _love_ that" Lucas retorted.

"You're _impossible."_ Brooke declared as she lay back on the bed. "I should have gone to Woodrow, he would have just done it by— _OW_!" she exclaimed as Lucas walked over and quickly reset it. "Are you_ kidding_ me?!"

"Now_ I _wish I could have knocked you out to do it." Lucas grumbled. He should have realised that she wasn't going to shut up the whole time he tried to do it. "But here we are, done and dusted. I just need to bandage it up."

"This _sucks_."

"What? You worried the new hot doc won't want to chase you anymore?" he asked as Brooke froze.

"… how do you know about that?"

"Just because you choose to think that I don't exist doesn't mean I _actually_ don't exist." He said as she started to bandage up her nose. "He seems nice."

"We really do not need to be having this conversation—"

"That's all I'm going to say. He seems nice and it's nice seeing you with a smile on your face." He said sincerely as Brooke chose to remain quiet. Lucas soon finished up and grabbed the pad to write everything down. "I'll get you another x-ray for about 6 weeks' time and a prescription for some pain killers." He said. "Just give me a call if there are any problems."

"Ok" she said quietly. "Thanks." She said as she walked towards the door.

"If he doesn't like you with a broken nose he's crazy" he called after her with a smirk.

"You still want me to give _you_ one?" she retorted.

"I'll pass this time" he joked.

"Suit yourself." She said with a shrug before leaving the room.

She didn't believe she and Lucas could ever be friends, but she didn't want to hold a grudge. Casual work acquaintances maybe wouldn't be so bad.

As soon as she opened the door, she saw Rachel and Bevin standing there, waiting to see the damage.

"Alright, laugh it up, now and only now." Brooke said as she rolled her eyes.

"Even with a broken nose you still manage to look good. Totally unfair." Bevin grumbled before sulking away.

"How are you feeling?" Rachel asked, as she tried not to laugh.

"Like I just got punched in the face with a door." Brooke retorted as she and Rachel started to walk on.

"I can't believe that Peyton of all people was the one to hit you. It was like one final _fuck you,_ huh?"

"Tell me about it..."

"I also can't believe you actually went to _Lucas _for help" Jo said.

Brooke shrugged; "He's the best there is and fixing my nose is the_ least_ he could do."

"You're not wrong there. Has Julian seen it yet?"

Brooke shook her head, "No, and he's not going to…"

Rachel laughed, "Brooke, you work with him! You can't hide this."

"I can try" Brooke said, desperate to at least leave some air of glamour between her and Julian. It was too early for him to see her with a bruised face as shallow as it sounded. On a deeper level, it was a convenient excuse to avoid her budding feelings for as long as possible.

* * *

A few days later, Julian approached Rachel at the nurses' station. He knew Brooke was avoiding him and he had a funny feeling it was about more than a broken nose.

"She's avoiding me, isn't she?" Julian immediately asked.

Rachel frowned, "Who?"

Julian sighed, "Brooke. Brooke is avoiding me."

Rachel shrugged, "She's got a broken nose, she's embarrassed…"

"It's about more than that Rachel and you know it. I don't care if she had a broken nose, I told her that, but she still refuses to talk to me for longer than 10 minute phone calls."

"Davis' are experts at running and hiding from things. But... they also eventually come around. The initial fear goes away and they realise what's important." Rachel encouraged. She didn't want to speak for Brooke, but she also didn't want to let Julian think that the situation was hopeless.

"She scares me" Julian admitted. "I don't know why but the thought of her - it... it really scares me."

Rachel smiled "You really have it bad for her don't you?"

"There was just something in her eyes the first time I met her."

"It's always in the eyes. Something long, something lasting, something real." Rachel informed him. She'd been hearing that a lot lately and she was starting to believe that people were telling the truth.

"What if I just freaked her out when I kissed her at the bar."

"You_ did _freak her out. She said she told you about Aiden" Rachel commented, moving into risky territory.

"Yeah, I—I can't even begin to imagine what that was like for her… and what Lucas put her through too."

"She was really broken. She lost all of her confidence, she lost everything that made her, her. Over the past 10 years she's been building herself back up again, but it hasn't been easy. I remember talking to her mom about it and she said it was like Brooke was trying to learn to walk again. I know 10 years may seem like a long time but when you lose someone so suddenly like that, someone who you had a future with—they never really go away"

"I would never want her to forget him." Julian made clear.

"Then just as her confidence was coming back, Lucas pulled his infamous gala stunt that we will say no more about. You freaked her out Julian, but you freaked her out in a good way. I don't think she ever thought it was possible for her to feel that way again. She is a little bit of a pessimist when it comes to love. She thought she would always be with Aiden, she thought Lucas loved her. You freaked her out because she's realising that its ok to love as many times as it takes to get it right and that someone could love her despite the obstacles she puts up. Finding that is rare and it scared her that you could be it for her."

"What do I do?"

"The ball's in her court. You just need to prove to her you meant what you said." Rachel encouraged.

At that moment, Brooke walked around the corner and froze when she spotted Julian and Rachel. As soon as Brooke and Julian made eye contact, she turned to walk away, but he was quick on her tail.

"Brooke wait!" He called but she kept walking "Please don't run."

"I'm a Davis it's what we do best" she replied.

"Brooke, please. I know you're scared—" Julian said, trailing off, unsure what to say next.

Brooke took a deep breath and turned around. " I've been through a lot. I've lost a lot. No one wants to date someone like me—"

"I know what you've lost. What you've been through—it's tragic and it's painful. But that stuff has shaped you into the person that you are today, and I really like that person."

"You're asking for a lot—"

"You're not as damaged as you think you are."

"You'd be surprised."

"Then I'll take the damage if I can get the rest of you. You're a curiosity Brooke Davis. I want to know you. I want to know everything about you." he said with a smile, as they were now face to face, only inches apart.

Brooke looked at the man in front of her. He was so genuine and caring and kind and she felt herself giving in to him. "I want you to know—_almost_—everything about me."

"I'm taking you out tonight." he told her confidently as Brooke chuckled.

"Ok." She replied with certainty. Lucas and Nathan were right – it was in the eyes.

* * *

**I hope you found the nose breaking situation a little bit humorous lol**

**Next chapter, Kate and Brooke get in a spot of trouble and Brooke loses her cool with Lucas...**


	11. Breaking Free

**So, a lot of requests in the reviews for Brulian not to be a thing... Julian serves a great purpose in this story in helping Brooke see what she deserves, but also in recognising how it should really feel when you are hopelessly in love with someone, and that's not necessarily how she feels about Julian... so bare with it for now as goodness in the form of Brucas is coming :)**

**Also - if me updating everyday is moving to fast for people, please just let me know and I can leave more time between chapters! I want to make sure everyone has a chance to read before I move on.**

**In this chapter, Kate and Brooke get into some medical trouble and Brooke loses her cool with Lucas, leading to a kind of heartbreaking moment at the end... enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Eleven – Breaking Free**

"Dr. Davis" Brooke heard someone call as she turned around and saw Kate walking towards her. "We need to talk" she said as Brooke looked at her, a little weirded out and followed into the empty hospital stairwell.

"Ok, this is weird… what's going on?" Brooke asked as Kate shifted uncomfortably.

"You know Benji Lannister, right?" Kate asked as she handed Brooke the 8-year-old boy's file. He had some problems with his immune system that meant he spent a lot of time in isolation to avoid easily catching something. It had gotten particularly bad recently and he had been trapped in a bubble in the hospital for the past 4 weeks, unable to touch his parents unless through a sterile suit. Kate had been working for weeks to find him a cure and Brooke had done a lot of wok in the lab with her too. They come close to something a number of times, but nothing ever seemed to stick.

"Yeah, sweet kid, how's he doing?" Brooke asked sincerely.

"He's doing better because I found the answer to his illness." Kate said hopefully.

"Seriously? Kate that's amazing, you've worked so hard on this." Brooke said, trying to encourage her, but for some reason Kate looked shifty. "But… his parents won't let you treat him, they don't want their son to be an experiment." Brooke reminded her.

"Look at his blood results" Kate said as she flipped Benji's chart over to look at, ignoring Brooke's confusion over their sudden change of heart.

Brooke looked back at the charts and furrowed her eyebrows at the results. How was it possible that he was making a miraculous recovery? His results had almost flipped over night.

"You're testing his white blood cell differential." Brooke observed. This wasn't a normal test, unless… she wouldn't, would she?

"I'm running many tests, yes."

Brooke looked up at Kate, starting to piece everything together; "His T cell count is up. A boy with no immune system grew 500 T cells over-night?" this particular lymphocyte was virtually non-existent in Benji, this wasn't just a miracle. "You administered your medicine without telling his parents, didn't you?" Brooke asked, completely shocked that perfect Kate Grant would step even one_ toe_ out of line.

"And it_ worked_!" Kate quickly defended.

"Yeah… it's working." Brooke said in amazement. In the moment, she completely forgot that what Kate did could cause a shit tonne of problems if Benji's parents found out, all because it worked. Kate had developed something revolutionary.

"I don't know what you're talking about" Kate said proudly as she walked away, trying to hide her smile.

"Wait!" Brooke called as she followed her back into the hospital. "Why are you telling me this? You're not trying to make me a scape goat for you, are you? Cause that's some _serious _Meredith Blake level step-mother_ crap _and I will not stand by that—"

"No Brooke, I told you because you are a part of this treatment. You helped get Benji better, your input was crucial in developing this treatment and I wanted you to know that." Kate said as Brooke looked taken aback by Kate's kindness. Were they finally having a break through after all this time?

"Oh, well… thank you." Brooke said awkwardly.

Kate nodded her head. "And don't worry, there will be no need for a scape goat, because I am coming clean about everything."

Brooke raised her eyebrows, "You're kidding, right? They're going to lose their minds Kate. You did this without telling them—"

"But I'm also getting their son out of that bubble. That's got to count for something." Kate said. "I can't lie to them, they need to know the truth about the treatment… but I won't bring you into any of this, I promise. I just have to hope that they'll see I did the right thing because their son is better and he is going home today."

* * *

Benji's parents did not take the news as well as Kate hoped. They went straight to the Ted, who got Lucas and legal involved in trying to fix this mess. It was moments like this that Lucas cursed his mother for buying him this hospital. Kate tried to keep Brooke out of it, but Lucas and Ted weren't stupid. They knew instantly that Brooke knew and didn't report it and was therefore in the thick of it all. While she wasn't in as much trouble as Kate was, there could still be serious consequences—and it didn't bode well for the firing that was happening.

While Kate was stuck with legal in one of the conference rooms, Brooke and Lucas decided to go down to the ICU to see Benji's parents and see if they could talk this through. They hoped to make them see that what Kate did wasn't an ego trip to prove her treatment worked, but rather make Benji well again so he could be reunited with his parents.

"How do we know that Dr. Grant isn't lying about his test results to hide her failure?" his mother angrily argued. There was no reason whatsoever for this woman to trust Kate or Brooke after they went behind her back.

"We can't trust that it's safe, what if we get him home and something happens?" his father added.

"I understand your concerns, but I ran some new labs myself—"

"Are you a parent, Dr. Scott?" his father interrupted.

Lucas shook his head, "No. I'm not… but I know if I ever get the privilege of being a father, I wouldn't react to kindly to someone taking my child's life in their hands without me knowing about it… but Dr. Grant didn't do this carelessly. She did this _because_ she cared. She wanted nothing more than Benji to get better and she had the solution. She was trying to do the right thing."

Brooke felt a little twinge in her heart at Lucas' words. They were thoughtful and considerate to Benji, his parents _and_ to Kate. He'd always been good at saying the right thing and it was something she missed about him. Over the past while, however, she had grown to accept that there would probably always be a little hole in her heart where Lucas used to be.

Lucas could feel Brooke's eyes boring into the back of his head as he spoke. Even without looking at her he could feel her presence and it soothed him. They both shook their thoughts of each other out of their heads and tried to focus on the situation at hand.

"If we lost him, I wouldn't stop until she was behind _bars_." His father said through his teeth, just as Ted walked around the corner and Kate lurked behind them, not wanting to make them feel more uncomfortable.

Brooke didn't know what came over her in that moment as she looked between Kate and Benji's parents, but she found herself jumping in to save Kate. It wasn't fair that she was going to be punished for saving this little boy's life.

"It's wasn't Dr. Grant's fault. She didn't do anything wrong. It was my fault he got the treatment. I forgot to tell her that you hadn't given your consent and she went ahead and did it and when I told her, she tried to cover for me—" Brooke lied. Brooke had been the one they had told after all, the lie fit perfectly together.

"You forgot? You just forgot?!" his father exclaimed.

Lucas studied Brooke for a moment. He knew her pretty well and he didn't buy this story one bit. For starters, she was just too good to lie and Brooke was the best of the best— she would never just forget something like this. For now, he could only take her word for it.

"Please, Dr. Davis is a resident, a trainee—" Lucas began began.

Ted jumped in, determined to protect his daughter and his wife "And if you want to yell at someone—"

"In what world does that make it ok? My son could have died, and you're just going to stand there and tell me that it's ok because it would have been a mistake?!"

"David…" Benji's mother suddenly said. She looked a lot calmer than she was before as she sat down on one of the chairs behind her. "David our boy is alive. He is healthy and we can take him home. Maybe we should just… go home." She said quietly. She soon realised among all the shouting that all that mattered was their son – and he was here and he was ok.

Benji's father soon relented. They let Benji out of the bubble, gave him his meds and sent him home. As soon as the left, Ted had turned to Kate and Brooke, his face like thunder.

"My office, _now._" He said through his teeth as he stormed ahead of them while they sheepishly followed behind.

* * *

"She is _lying_!" Kate shouted to Ted as Brooke stood there awkwardly. She felt like she was back at school and here she was, standing in the principal's office, ready to take her punishment. However, Kate was not about to let her take the fall for this. Everybody knew Brooke was lying, but by punishing Brooke and believing her tale, Ted could save Kate's job.

"Kate that is _enough_. I understand you wanted to protect Brooke, but you should_ not_ have let it go this far!" Ted replied.

"You're taking her word over mine?!" she asked in disbelief.

"It is over Kate. They agreed to drop the charges in exchange for Brooke receiving a one-week disciplinary suspension. They have gone home. You should both do the same." Ted insisted, before leaving the room.

Kate quickly turned and glared at Brooke "What th_e hell_ is wrong with you?!"

"Kate could you please get your head out of your ass for _five_ minutes and realise what we just did for you?!" Brooke exclaimed. "Dad knows me, he knows I am lying but he also knows that if you got fired over this, no one would benefit from this treatment the way Benji did. You were going to go down for this Kate and you are too good to lose." Brooke complimented as Kate fell silent, finally understanding what Brooke had just done for her. "You knew it could happen, but you were willing to risk everything for that little boy. What kind of surgeon would I be if I wasn't willing to do the same?"

Kate walked towards Brooke and pulled her in for a hug. In the 12 years that they had known each other, they had never _once_ hugged each other. Brooke froze for a minute before hugging Kate back. It was a rare moment of mutual admiration and respect. They only hoped things could continue this way.

* * *

After speaking with Kate, Brooke made her way round to the resident's lounge to gather her things. She knew in the long run that helping Kate out in this way was the right thing to do, but she knew everyone had seen through her lie. Luckily for her no one was prepared to say anything—nobody except _Lucas_. He walked into the lounge just as she zipped up her boots and put his hands in his the pockets of his white coat.

"You're good Brooke."

Brooke turned around and looked at him; "Excuse me?"

"You're good. A good person, a good doctor… a great doctor actually, the best we've got." He complimented.

"Uh… thanks?" she said, not sure where he was going with this.

"You wouldn't forget something like that. You wouldn't forget to tell Kate."

"Well I did. It happened, so—" Brooke said with a shrug, zipping up her bag and hanging her lab coat up.

"I know you think you've done something noble—"

Brooke crossed her arms and interrupted him. She wasn't about to let him scold her. "I got suspended for one week, Dr. Grant would have been fired, there is no _noble _choice here, just the right one—"

"You're lucky it was only a week." Lucas said. He was right, it could have been much worse for her. It was a gamble to take the blame.

"Yeah well, I don't know why you care Lucas. You're not my boyfriend. Hell, we're not even _friends_ so… why don't you head home to your best buddy turned girlfriend." She bit as she lifted her bag and tried to walk away, but Lucas held her back, so they were standing side by side.

"Are you seriously going to be that _petty_?" he asked.

"I don't know what your problem is Lucas, but you can't seem to get it into your head that I don't want you in my life, I don't want you anywhere near me and I sure as _hell _don't want you coming in here and telling me that I was wrong or thinking that you need to save me!" she exclaimed. She couldn't understand why he had to tell her that Julian would be crazy not to like her or that she should be more careful with her career. Who did he think he was to her? He wasn't her knight in shining armour, she didn't need to be saved. "Maybe that was a cheap dig at your decisions, but you're the one who came in here and started this fight. So don't you _dare_ try and make me look like the bad guy." She said sternly. She was not about to let Lucas call her petty.

"Brooke, I—" he said softly but Brooke took a step back from him and ran her hand through her hair, not wanting to hear his excuses or his attempt at being nice to her.

"God, why won't you let me get on with my life?" she asked quietly as her eyes filled with tears.

"Just because I chose Peyton doesn't mean that I didn't love you! I care about you and the choices you make—" he exclaimed.

Brooke shook her head; "You—you didn't love me. If you loved me, you wouldn't have done that to me. I should have known better in all honestly. But now, I have someone that I know would _never _hurt me like that and who it doesn't hurt to love" she said proudly of Julian. Truthfully, she didn't know if that was the case cause she didn't know him well enough, but right now, she trusted him more than she could ever trust Lucas.

Lucas gulped, getting more emotional in this situation than he expected to. "Just because it doesn't hurt, doesn't mean it's good for you." He told her honestly. Easy didn't necessarily mean good—and she would have been the first to tell someone that.

"You don't know what's good for me. You don't get to pretend you know either. So like I said. Go home to your girlfriend Lucas." She repeated, before pushing straight past him and out the door.

* * *

"You're in a bad mood" Nathan observed as he approached Brooke in the hallway a week later. She was back from her suspension and ready to put it all behind her and move forward. She didn't want to talk to anybody about it and she especially didn't want to talk to Lucas about anything. It was bad enough that she had to work with him, so she didn't need him trying to look out for her and fail in doing so.

"Thank you Captain Obvious…" She replied sarcastically.

"What's your deal?" he asked as Brooke turned to look at him with a sigh.

"I got into a fight with Lucas before I left for my suspension and now that I'm back here, I've been reminded of it." She explained. While she had enjoyed her time off, she really did miss the hospital and was thankful to be back—though she was determined to avoid Lucas at all costs.

"Damn. I thought you were avoiding him."

"I was, but he seems to think that he can keep butting into my life." She said, completely frustrated by the whole thing.

Nathan shrugged; "He loved you."

"No he didn't." Brooke said bluntly. She was a little bit sick of hearing people say that.

"_Yes he did._ He may have chosen Sawyer, but I saw the way he looked at you—he _still_ looks at you in the same way."

Brooke stopped and looked at Nathan. "Is that supposed to make me feel better?" she didn't want to hear about how Lucas looked at her. She didn't want to hear about Lucas _at all_. Why was Nathan speaking up for him?

"I'm just saying. He panicked and made a rash decision with Sawyer cause they never saw through their weird thing—"

"Nathan—"

"They won't last, and he'll realise that he let the best thing in his life slip away." Nathan replied honestly.

"Again, is that supposed to help me?" she questioned. She usually appreciated Nathan's honesty—but not this time. This time he was just screwing with her head. She tried to remind herself that she had a good thing going with Julian, but Nathan wasn't helping.

"Mark my words Davis." He said, before walking away.

What was Nathan trying to achieve by telling her that? She tried to forget about it, but she guessed that would probably be more difficult than she had hoped. She was about to walk away when Lucas walked over and tried to talk to her. "Brooke—"

"Not now Lucas." She said, quickly cutting him off before walking away.

* * *

Brooke had been thinking about how she brushed Lucas off all day. She didn't want to hold this grudge against him. She didn't want to feel awkward every time she walked past him, she didn't want to have to push him away every time he came over to make things right. She also didn't want to be his friend, but they needed to find some neutral ground if they were going to continue working together.

As she went to find him and speak to him, she bumped straight into Peyton in an empty hallway. They stood there awkwardly, unsure what to say.

"At least I didn't break your nose this time" Peyton joked as Brooke nodded.

"Yeah that really would have been a killer…" Brooke replied as she folded her arms as if she was trying to protect herself.

"I'm really sorry about that, by the way. I don't think I ever got to say it…" Peyton said.

"It's ok. I guess it makes a good story" Brooke joked in response. Brooke then tried to walk away, but Peyton called back to her.

"You should let him apologise Brooke." She said as Brooke stopped, but remained with her back to Peyton. "This has been killing him what happened."

"It was his choice to feel this way, not mine." Brooke reminded her.

"He knows… but just because he wanted to give us a chance, doesn't mean his feelings for you changed. I'm not an idiot Brooke – I see the way he still looks at you. I feel his distance from me and I can fight that all I want, but it's never going to change until you give him some peace of mind." Peyton reasoned. "I'm not saying he deserves it… but maybe it's the peace you need too." She encouraged, before turning and walking away.

Brooke didn't feel like she owed Lucas anything, but she figured Peyton was probably right. She needed to do this for her. She knew it probably would always hurt, probably even more than she would ever let herself admit, but she needed to put this behind her. She needed to stop being hostile with him.

She soon found him standing at the nurse's station in the ICU and slowly walked towards him as she thought through what she was going to say. She rested her arm on the desk as he realised she was there and turned to look at her, surprised she was approaching him.

"I want you to be happy. I do. I know I am pretty hostile with you but… you _broke _me Lucas. I hate to admit it because I hate being vulnerable, but I loved you and you broke me. But… despite it all, _I don't hate you._ A part of me still loves you and I want you to be happy. I would like to think you wanted the same for me." She replied honestly. She hated being vulnerable, but she didn't think there was anything else that she could be in this moment.

"Of course I do." He insisted.

Brooke eyed glistened with tears as she tried to get the next words out; "Ok then—_step away_. Don't come for quiet chats in the lounge with me because I—I can't take it. Because knowing you care is just another reason for me to keep on loving you and—I don't want to know that. I _can't_ know that. We both have two really special people in our lives… So let's let each other be happy." She said as she let a few tears roll down her cheek. They'd been over for months. Why was this so damn _hard_?

Lucas gulped and looked away as he tried to keep his emotions in check. He shouldn't care this much. He knew that. "ok" he replied softly as Brooke wiped her tears and walked away from him once more.

* * *

**I kind of love that moment at the end... like I said before - I'm a sucker for a bit of heartbreak!**

**Next chapter, t****he Davis' deal with a difficult accident and Brooke once again turns to Lucas for help...**


	12. Simple and Sweet

**The Davis' deal with a difficult accident and Brooke once again turns to Lucas for help... enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Twelve – Simple and Sweet**

"_Matty!"_ Brooke shouted as she banged on the bathroom door in her house while she, Julian, Rachel and Nathan all stood outside it.

"Can I get a little privacy here?" Matty shouted back as Brooke groaned.

"Matty, we have an open door policy when it comes to bathrooms in this house, you need to respect it if you're going to stay here!" she warned. Matty had come down from New York for a quick visit over spring break. He'd stayed with Ted for a few days before moving on to Brooke's house – mainly to escape the same old argument that Ted and Kate were having. Ted had been offered an amazing research opportunity in New York and he was prepared to give up being chief for it – but Kate was in no mood to leave Raleigh. Her whole family was here, she loved her job and she was not willing to start afresh. Matty had joked Kate didn't want Ted anywhere near Victoria in case they were tempted, but Brooke and Harrison were quick to scold him for being an idiot.

"And you need to respect that I don't feel comfortable showering while Nathan takes a dump beside me!" he shouted back.

"Hey, there are _rules_ on the open door policy, you need a dump you go downstairs in the cubby." Nathan told him. They all needed to get ready for work and Matty was taking his sweet time.

Julian looked down at his watch, "I have an early surgery, I need to go. I'll just shower at work." He said as quickly kissed Brooke's cheek. "I'll see you guys later"

"Bye" they all replied before immediately turning back to the door and banging on it.

"Matty, this is _ridiculous_, you are _never_ staying here again!" Brooke told him as moved to kick the door just as it opened, her foot colliding with Matty's shin.

_"Geez Brooke!_ That seems a little uncalled for." He said with a knowing smirk as he rubbed his leg. Like Harrison, he had always been a bit of a trouble maker.

"You are _so_ annoying!" Brooke said as they all pushed past him and slammed the door in his face in annoyance.

"Great to be here sis, thanks for having me!" he teased, before chuckling to himself.

Brooke briefly opened the door again and stuck her head out, "If you want a ride to the skate park, we're leaving in 15 minutes, but if you are even a _minute_ late we are leaving without you."

"I'll just skate down, but thank you so much for the generous offer." Matty mocked as Brooke deeply glared at him. Sometimes having brothers could be the most frustrating thing in the world.

* * *

15 minutes later, Brooke, Rachel and Nathan were frantically trying to gather their stuff to get out the door on time.

"Is Matty still here?" Nathan asked as Brooke ran to the bottom of the stairs.

"Matty?" she called, but there was no response. "I'll take that as a no, come on, let's go" she said as the dashed out to Brooke's car and jumped in. They barely had the doors closed before Brooke had reversed out of the drive.

"Brooke stop!" Rachel called as Brooke slammed on the brakes.

"God, Rachel, you almost have me a heart attack! What is the problem?!"

"Back there, there's someone lying on the road." Rachel said as they all looked out Brooke's back window and saw someone lying there, not moving.

"Oh my god…" Brooke grumbled as they all quickly jumped out of the car and ran towards the figure. As Brooke got closer she recognised the brunette locks hidden under a short black helmet._ "Matty… Matty!"_ Brooke screamed when she realised it was her brother, before bending down and tending to him. He was knocked out cold, his helmet was split and it was clear he had sustained a head injury. "Rachel, call an ambulance!" Brooke said frantically, but Rachel was already doing so.

Nathan on the other hand was the only one who noticed a car stopped just a few feet away. He ran to the driver's window and saw a middle aged guy breathing heavily and gripping his steering wheel tightly.

"Sir, what happened?" Nathan asked.

"He came out of nowhere, I didn't see him I swear!" he said as Nathan nodded his head.

"Sir, I need you to calm down for me and take some deep breaths, help is on the way."

"Is he going to be ok?!" he frantically asked as Nathan looked back at Brooke who was holding Matty's head steadily in place.

"Just sit tight." Nathan replied vaguely, not wanting to make any promises he couldn't keep.

Brooke frantically lifted out her phone and tried calling her dad, but he didn't pick up and neither did Kate or Julian, so she tried the next person she could think of – Lucas.

"Brooke?" He asked down the line, surprised she was calling.

"Lucas, thank god, I need you to go and find my dad and get him down to the ER" she said frantically as she tried to fight her tears.

"Wow, Brooke, slow down, what's going on?" he said as he started to run through the hospital to find Ted, picking up that she was clearly upset.

"We were leaving the house and Matty had just left and he was skating and he was hit by a car and he has a head injury—" Brooke rambled.

"Ok, ok, I'll find your dad, you just wait for the ambulance, take some deep breaths, everything is going to be ok Brooke." He assured her.

Brooke fought back her tears as she ran her hand over her forehead. Normally she was so calm in difficult situations like this, but when it was her family, it was a whole other story. She felt so out of control and brainless.

"My mom—" Brooke began.

"I'll call her, don't worry about that, just stay with Matty." Lucas told her as Brooke could only nod. Thank god he was so good in a crisis.

"Ok, ok, thank you" she said as Lucas gulped down the line, hearing the sirens of the ambulance in the distance.

"I'll see you soon."

* * *

Ted, Lucas and Kate sprinted down to the ER and to trauma room 1 where Matty had been brought in by the paramedics. All they could do was stand and watch while the head of trauma and several residents attended to him.

"Dad!" Brooke called when she spotted her father from the waiting room as she rushed over to him and hugged him.

"What happened?" Kate asked desperately as he lifted his chart.

"He was knocked off board by a car, he has a head injury" Rachel explained as Brooke could barely talk.

"Ok, let's get him straight to CT, somebody page Nelson." Dr. Peterson said as they started to move him.

Ted grabbed Peterson as he was leaving; "Peterson, this is my little boy—" Ted said, his voice cracking at the sight of his son lying on the gurney.

"Chief, we've got this."

Ted, Brooke, Kate, Lucas, Rachel and Nathan were left standing in silence as they all left to tend to Matty. They could barely comprehend what had just happened. He was here and being a total jerk to them this morning and then taken away in a flash.

Ted ran a hand down his face before turning to his daughter; "Where's Victoria?"

"Uh—" Brooke began before turning to Lucas for the answer.

"She's on her way sir, I called her. She was on her way to Raleigh for a conference anyway, so she shouldn't be too long." Lucas said as he nodded in response.

"Ted, sit down and take a breath. He's in good hands." Kate insisted as she led Ted to the seats so he could calm down.

Brooke turned to Lucas, "Thank you for doing all this—" she said quietly. He really didn't have to, yet he was right here, supporting her in whatever way he could. She couldn't help but chuckle to herself that he was brave enough to speak to Victoria. She really was out for blood after what happened - but be obviously didn't care. This was far too important.

"You don't have to thank me." Lucas insisted. He saw the vulnerability in her eyes and all he wanted to do was hold her and let her know that everything would be ok, but he _couldn't._ He didn't have the right to even be her friend anymore. "I uh – I should get back to work, but I will come and check in a little bit. Let me know if there's anything else I can do." he said. As much as he wanted to stay, he didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable by being here. Brooke nodded her head, a little disappointed, but she knew he had to go. She knew she had to _let_ him go - in more than one way. She watched him as he disappeared from the ER before turning to Nathan and Rachel.

"You guys should go work too, there's no point all of us getting reprimanded for this…"

"Not a chance." Rachel said as Nathan agreed. "We're family. Family sticks together."

Brooke felt her eyes swell with tears as she gratefully nodded her head. Boy was she thankful to have these people in her life.

* * *

Only a short while later, the ER doors flung open and Victoria rushed in like a tornado, causing everyone to turn and look at her. Even when she was frantic she still managed to look so elegant and glamorous.

"Ted" she called as he immediately rushed over to her and hugged her tightly. Brooke, Nathan and Rachel gave each other some side eye – she couldn't remember the last time her parents_ talked_ let alone _hugged_. She guessed fear made you so crazy things…

"He always knows to wear his helmet, he should have worn his helmet." She said desperately, trying to look for any sort of blame.

Ted moved back from the hug a tightly grasped her arms; "Vic, this was an accident. He had his helmet on, he and the driver just didn't see each other, but he is in the safest hands possible." he assured her.

"That's our little boy Ted." Victoria said quietly as Ted silently nodded.

"I know, Vic, I know."

"He is the most _beautiful_ boy" she said as the tears streamed down her face. Matty could be a cheeky nightmare, but he was so loving and he would do anything for his family, just like they would do anything for him.

Julian, who had just finished his morning surgery, burst into the ER after hearing what had happened and saw the heart broken family in front of him. He stood back and gave them a moment.

"He is a testament to the good in this family and he will be ok. We're going to have so many more memories with him. He will be ok." Ted assured her as he hugged her once again.

Julian watched as Brooke looked overwhelmed by the situation and walked outside. He stood for a moment before quietly following her out. She stopped just outside the doors and Julian put a hand on her shoulder. He didn't know what to say, but he wanted her to know that he was there.

"My little brother is dying—"

"He's not dying." Julian assured her. This could be controlled, it could be fixed.

"I-I can't do this, I can't see him like this he—he's my little brother." She said as she started to panic.

Julian softly pulled her into his arms and let her cry against his chest.

"He's going to be ok."

"He has a brain bleed and he's stuck with Nelson as his doctor—" Brooke whined. Nelson certainly wasn't incompetent, but he wasn't the best of the best and that was all Brooke would allow for her brother to have.

"I'll go in there with him. I'll scrub in, if anything goes wrong, which it _won't, _I'll be there. I promise."

Brooke looked up at him with a sense of wonder and calmness, "You're amazing." she said quietly.

"I could say the same about you Brooke Davis... but I don't think amazing does you justice. I can barely put into words just how much you mean to me. Love doesn't seem to be enough."

Brooke crooked an eyebrow, "Love?" she questioned. She certainly wasn't ready to say that word, but it appeared Julian couldn't hold back.

"Yeah. Love... but I won't say I love you just yet. Not until you're ready to hear it" he said wisely. It appeared he could read her better than she gave him credit for.

Brooke nodded her head and released him from the hug, "Go. I'll be there in a second. I just—I need a moment." She told him as he nodded and gave her a sweet kiss before going inside.

Brooke stood there and closed her eyes, allowing the cool breeze to brush over her, while she said a silent prayer for her little brother. She soon went back inside just as Peterson came over to update them all on what was happening.

"The scans showed that he does have a bleed and a skull fracture, so Nelson is taking him in now to repair it. We have high hopes that the surgery will go well, we just need you all to remain calm, and trust that we have got this." Peterson said.

"Baker, I want you in there" Ted said turning to Julian. He trusted him implicitly.

"Already on it boss" He said as he quickly left the ER to go scrub in.

* * *

After taking a few minutes to calm herself down and let the surgery get started, Brooke made her way to the OR gallery. She knew it was frowned upon for family to be in here, but she wasn't afraid of bending the rules a little right now. She just needed to be in there to see what was going on, she needed to know he was ok.

When she got there, she found Ted, Victoria, Harrison (who had just got in from New York), Rachel, Nathan, Kate, Bevin – even Peyton and Lucas were there.

"I didn't think you would be up here." She said, mainly addressing her parents as she sat down beside Lucas in the back row.

"Where else would we be?" Ted asked.

"I don't know if this is a good idea..." she said shifting in her seat.

"You're here" Nathan reminded her.

"Yeah... I guess I am."

They all say in silence for a few minutes before Harrison let out a laugh, causing everyone to look at him, a little confused that that was his response in this situation.

"I used to fly Matty around the living room when he was little and he would pretend he was Superman." Harrison said, continuing with the story telling. "One day I accidentally dropped him and instead of crying, he just burst out laughing and asked me to do it again." He explained, continuing to laugh "and the amount of times I kicked him in the face with a football by accident... he really had no fear. He still doesn't. He never backs down from anything, he has so much strength... he has the amount of strength only I could dream of having."

"The kid is a total Rockstar." Rachel confirmed. There really wasn't anything he wouldn't try. He was a risk taker and it pushed the people around him to be better too.

"I was always afraid that when Ted and I divorced, he would grow up in a hostile environment and just completely resent us." Victoria confessed softly. He was only 5 years old when it happened. "He had the most unconventional upbringing, but he was still surrounded by so much love. He still is and I couldn't have asked for a more wonderful little boy. I swore that I would give him the world and I know, I just _know_ that he is going to have the chance to get it. Like you said, Matty Davis is strong. So _very, very_ strong"

"He really is the best of us" Brooke added, her voice cracking a little. Lucas looked at her and could see that she was shaking slightly. He knew she would probably hate him for this, but he had to at least try and sooth her. He subtly lifted his hand and took hers in his, lacing their fingers together for extra security. Surprisingly, Brooke didn't pull away. She let him hold her hand and she stopped shaking. Despite everything, he still made her feel safe and she was going to take full advantage of that right now.

* * *

A few hours had passed, and the surgeons were all still sitting in the gallery watching intently. Brooke had her eyes on Julian who was watching Nelson perform the surgery with such concentration on his face. He was ready to jump in at any moment.

Suddenly, the machines started to beep around them, and they all sat up in their seats.

"There's another bleed" Nelson announced. "I can't get it under control."

Julian didn't wait around as the nurses suited him up and he forced Nelson out of the way.

_"Move_." He said as he began to work on the bleed.

"Julian please, come on, come on" Brooke mumbled through her heavy breathing as Lucas squeezed her hand that little bit tighter.

Julian worked effortlessly on the bleed and the beeps of the machines subsided. He had fixed it. Everything was under control.

"There we go" he said as he looked at the monitors and saw everything go back to normal. "It appears that the rumours are true Dr. Nelson" Julian said as he finished up with the surgery.

"What rumours Dr. Baker?" Nelson asked sheepishly.

"Davis' are incredibly strong." He said, looking up to the gallery and at Brooke. Brooke smiled softly as she released Lucas' hand, leaving_ him_ feeling slightly less secure than before.

* * *

Once the surgery was complete, Ted and Victoria immediately made their way round to recovery to be there when Matty woke up. While everyone else went to get something to eat, Brooke waited outside the OR door for Julian to come out of the scrub room. She was so thankful for him and appreciative for what he did in there. He made her heart soar.

He soon came out and saw Brooke standing there, looking a little antsy. He smiled at her and she immediately launched herself into his arms.

"You are my _hero_" she mumbled into his neck.

He let out a laugh, "Just doing my job."

Brooke took his hand and quickly led him away from the ORs.

"He won't be awake for a while right?" She asked as they walked down the hallways of the hospital.

"No..." he said curiously.

Brooke looked around her before pulling him into an on-call room, closing the door and then locking it.

"Then I have time to properly thank you" she said as she leaned up and kissed him passionately.

* * *

A little while later Victoria, Ted, Harrison and Brooke were gathered in Matty's ICU room waiting for him to wake up. They knew these things took time, but none of them were willing to leave him right now.

"I never thought I would miss him annoying me this much." Harrison grumbled, finding the silence of him sleeping unnerving. They all knew how much Matty liked to wind people up, especially his siblings and his mother.

"Don't worry, there will be plenty of time for him to do that when he wakes up. I would place wagers on the first thing he says to be insulting" Brooke said with a little laugh.

"So Brookie… tell us about Dr. Baker." Harrison said with a knowing smile. He saw the way Julian was looking at his sister, he wasn't an idiot.

Brooke glared deeply at him, really not wanting to get into this right now.

"I like him Brooke." Her mother said quietly. "He seems steady and safe."

_Steady and safe_. That was exactly what Julian was and she loved him for it. She felt on solid ground when she was with him, which was a good thing… right? She didn't know why the thought of stability made her a little uneasy. Maybe because she wasn't used to safe and she wasn't sure it was possible.

Before Brooke could say anything about it, Julian walked into the room and everyone immediately looked to him for an update.

"Hey guys, how's he looking?" He asked as he opened Matty's chart.

"His stats are good, everything is looking good" Ted told Julian who nodded his head in agreement.

"It shouldn't be too much longer until he wakes up... which appears to be about now." Julian said as he noticed Matty stirring.

Victoria and Ted were quickly up at his bedside, so that he would see them and not be afraid when he woke.

"Matty..." Victoria said as she held on tightly to his hand.

Julian moved to delicately remove his breathing tube to allow him to communicate.

"Matty honey... you're ok... you're ok..." Victoria said with a smile.

"Mom... dad..." Matty began.

"Don't try to talk too much, how are you feeling?" Ted asked.

"I have a headache… like the ones I get when Brooke sings." Matty confessed in a croaky voice.

"And he's back" Brooke said happily as a wave of relief washed over all of them and they all started to laugh.

* * *

After Matty had fallen asleep, Brooke realised it was probably time she went home and slept herself. It had been an exhausting day so she suspected she would be asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. She lifted her phone out of her pocket, having not touched it all day, and saw that she had a voicemail. She dialled the number and was surprised by the voice she heard on the other end.

"_Hey Brooke, it's Lucas… I uh – I wanted to talk to you and see how you were doing but I figured I was probably the last person you wanted to talk to."_ He said awkwardly as Brooke sat on a bench outside the hospital. "_Anyway, I hope you're doing ok and that Matty's ok. He's a great kid Brooke and everyone was right – he has so much strength. He takes after his sister in that department_" he complimented as Brooke let out a little laugh. "_So… yeah. Just let me know if there's anything else I can do to help. I know you might not believe this, but I will always be there for you Brooke. Bye."_

Brooke hung up the phone and just sat in silence for a moment. He was really kind to her today, yet he wasn't overbearing. He knew the boundaries and while he still chanced them, he gave her space. He was respectful during it all, his voice note was simple and sweet and she was grateful. She couldn't, however, find it in herself to call him back, so instead she just sent him a text.

_Thank you._

She wrote. Simple and sweet – which was how she hoped things could stay.

* * *

**Progress! Brucas are coming back people... Next chapter, Brooke flashes back to the aftermath of Victoria and Ted's divorce and Lucas has a plan to win back Brooke's friendship**


	13. Relationship Rut

**Chapter Thirteen – Relationship Rut**

A month or so had passed since Matty's accident and he had made a strong recovery. After a little over a week in hospital, he could fly home to New York and a week after that he was back at school. He was also back to being his normal, fearless self and was desperately trying to bargain with Victoria to let him back on his skateboard but was having little success. He did manage to convince his mother to let him ride his bike through central park, where there wasn't a car in sight, but it took a lot of bargaining. He knew he had to be careful though. The accident in a way had changed him, but at his core he was still ready for adventure.

Brooke was also doing good. She and Julian were in a good place following his little love confession a month ago. While he still hadn't said I love you, Brooke could see how he felt in his actions every day. He was always round at the house and Brooke always managed to weasel her way on to his surgeries. He was good for her and everybody could see it, but those closest to Brooke could also see that there was something not quite right about her. Ever since things ended with Lucas, it was like a light inside of her had gone out. They knew Brooke would never admit to missing him, even as a friend, but they could all see it. She may have been enjoying her time with Julian, but it just wasn't the same.

Ted and Kate had also been silently struggling. Ted was still desperately trying to convince Kate to make the move to New York, but he wasn't having any luck. Ever since Matty's accident, Ted had been even more convinced he wanted to go. He felt like he hadn't been the father his youngest son deserved since he'd been in Raleigh for 12 years, so he wanted to make up for lost time in case time escaped away from them before they knew it. Eventually, Kate had had enough and when Ted was going to visit Matty and see where he could potentially be working in his new job, Kate told him to just stay there and not bother coming back – so he left.

"Kate" Brooke called over to her in the hospital lobby the day after Ted had left. "Why did dad leave a voicemail for me saying he was in New York and would be staying there for the foreseeable future?"

"He took the job and I told him to go." Kate replied with a shrug.

"In the middle of the night?!" Brooke asked, questioning how she could be so blasé about the whole thing. Brooke had always suspected that the reason Kate fit in with the Davis clan was that she was just as emotionally unavailable as the rest of them. This particular incident was proving her point.

"Yes. In the middle of the night. I told him to go and he did. _We_ are not going to have a fight about this, if he wanted to see you before he went, he would have." Kate snapped.

Brooke clenched her jaw and let out a breath "That's real nice Kate. Always thinking of others before yourself." She said through her teeth before walking away. She wasn't necessarily mad that her dad had left, she was just mad that it was kept from her. She was also jealous that her whole family was now in New York without her. Though, she knew she had a lot to be grateful for here. It would just be a weird adjustment not seeing her dad every day. It didn't seem that long ago that she really resented him for divorcing her mother and marrying Kate. She was a teenager, she couldn't understand how he could move on so soon.

She remembered one particular day in New York where things hit the fan. It was the week before Ted was due to fly out to Raleigh to marry Kate and live there permanently. He had been travelling back and forwards for work, but now he had secured a permanent job at Raleigh med and that was that.

Brooke on the other hand was struggling to accept it all. She was letting her anger get the better of her. She was angry that her parents pretty much hated each other, she was angry that they were barely around while she was growing up, she was angry that Ted had moved on so quickly. She was just so angry.

**** 12 years ago****

Brooke sneakily made her way into ER of the hospital her parent's worked at and hid out of sight. The last thing she needed was an over keen nurse wanting to look at the large gash on her arm or worse; her parents. She had let her angry over her father's departure get the better of her and had smashed a glass in anger, causing a bit to get caught in her arm and leave a large gash.

As she looked around for someone she could trust to help her, she spotted her Uncle Kirk walk by.

"psst...Kirk!" She said in a whispered shout. "Kirk!" He still didn't see her. "God KIRK WALKER!" she shouted a little louder than intended, but she got his attention.

He walked over to her. "Hey, what's up Cookie?" He asked he asked with a smile, a little confused as to why she was hiding behind a pillar.

She held up her bleeding arm and sighed. "I need your help."

Kirk soon ushered her into a side room and began stitching up her arm. Brooke was glad that Kirk was the person she found because she knew she would be sewed up like a pro.

"This is pretty deep Cookie, what happened?" He asked concerned for his goddaughter.

"I just got a bit mad... smashed a mirror, a bit of the glass got caught in my arm." She said as if it was nothing.

"Ouch... I'm guessing the reason you didn't go to your very capable surgical parents was because they are the reason you're mad?" Kirk asked deciding to be shrink as well as surgeon.

"I don't want to talk about it." Brooke said quickly brushing Kirk off.

"Ok... as long as you know that just because they're not together doesn't mean that they don't love you..." Kirk said hoping to get through to the girl.

But it was of no avail, "Well they certainly have a funny way of showing it… and not two weeks ago you were telling me that my parents screwed me up." Brooke said, recalling a conversation they had recently had. He had been a little tipsy after a few drinks with Ted and had cynically commented that all parents screw their kids up – and Brooke and her brothers were no exception. Over the years Brooke had begun to think Kirk was right, though she thought it was childish to blame her parents for her own problems.

"They can still love you and screw you up…"

At that moment, Victoria burst into the room, clearly unimpressed with the sight before her.

"Kirk could you leave me alone with my daughter please, I can finish up here." Victoria said as Kirk sheepishly handed her the needle and making a quick escape.

Victoria sat down and began to stitch. As Brooke went to protest her mother being here, she quickly cut her off.

"No, you're not going to say a _word_. _I'm_ going to do the talking here. I don't know what happened, I don't want to know what happened, but I'm going to take a guess that it was out of anger for what happened between me and your father which is_ not_ ok." She began as Brooke winced at the stitches going in. "I know that you are hurting, we are_ all_ hurting, but getting angry to an extent that you hurt yourself? It's not worth this amount of pain. We're not together Brooke, but we're all still here, we're still a family. An unconventional one but... a family and we will _always_ be there for you. You need to put on a brave face and accept that you are so very loved and that everything will be ok, otherwise you're going to go down a path that you will regret and break everyone's hearts. Everything will be ok." Victoria finished.

She couldn't remember another time when she spilled her feelings to her daughter so much. Brooke needed to hear this, even if she didn't take it now, she would need it in the long run. Victoria wasn't convinced Brooke would believe a word coming out her mouth, but it was true and she prayed that as Brooke grew older she would appreciate Victoria's words. Victoria finished up her stitches and began to fill in some information on a chart, not realising that her daughter's blood was boiling with rage and tears threatened to fall from her eyes.

"You didn't even _fight_ for him." Brooke said to her mother forcefully.

"What?" Victoria asked putting down her pen.

"You let him slip away from you, you _pushed _and you _pushed_ until he'd had enough! He walked out and he found someone else and it's just so _shitty_ mom. It's so shitty that you couldn't keep our family together!" Brooke said of her point of view on the situation. She didn't blame her mother entirely for the whole thing, but that was who she was talking to right now, so that was who she was going to lash out at.

"I realised a long time ago that your father didn't love me the way he did in the past and I just needed to accept that." Victoria responded as she stood defiantly in front of her daughter. There was no way she was going to let Brooke see her break. Ted was a distant man – but Victoria was a stubborn woman. They clashed and they couldn't communicate and it led to their downfall and their severe dislike of one another.

"So what? You decided you would just hurt him as some sort of revenge for not loving you how you wanted to be loved?" Brooke exclaimed not understanding her mother's actions.

"Yes, maybe there was an aspect of revenge there and at that moment I thought he was a sanctimonious _bastard _that deserved whatever hell he had coming. We _both_ messed up to measures that we can't fix, but that doesn't mean that you do not have two parents that you can rely on. This isn't your war Brooke, so don't hold a grudge. Not against me or your father." Victoria said sternly, her voice rattling slightly.

"Sure, it's adult stuff, right? Only really matters for those directly involved?" Brooke spat bitterly as she stepped off the exam room bed.

"That is not what I meant..." Victoria began.

"Whatever mom, I'm going to Harry's. That is if he's still there and hasn't taken off again." Brooke said. Her brother had a nasty habit of taking off when things got hard. Brooke swiftly left the room, but Victoria wasn't prepared to let her daughter leave like that and rushed out after her.

As Brooke left the ER, Ted walked in her direction and saw the bandages on her arm.

"Wow what happened to your arm?" He said stopping her in her tracks.

"Nothing." Brooke said bluntly as she tried to manoeuvre past him.

"Well it's clearly not nothing..."

"Just leave _me alone!"_ Brooke snapped at Ted.

"Brooke do _not_ speak to your father that away." Victoria warned.

"Oh, so _now _you decide to try and be a parent?" Brooke bit back at Victoria.

"Brooke you are making a scene." Ted forced from under his breath as everyone stopped to look at them.

Brooke scoffed. "Your whole life is a damn _soap opera_ showcased for _everyone _to see and _I'm _making a scene?! You're the ones performing a whole _frickin play_!"

"What do you want from us Brooke?" Victoria said frustrated. She had tried so hard but to no avail.

Brooke backed away from her parents towards the door. "I want my family back." She admitted before swiftly leaving.

Ted wasn't prepared to let her walk away this time and swiftly followed her to the lobby of the hospital.

"_Hey!_ We need to talk." He called after her angrily.

"Great, you're using your angry voice, which is ironic considering you have _nothing_ to be angry about." Brooke said with a scoff.

"Stop walking and look at me." Ted demanded.

"No can do."

"Brooke Penelope Davis I am your father, you _will _turn around and you _wil_l talk to me."

"You don't even know the _meaning_ of the word father—"

"Show me some respect dammit!" Ted shouted as Brooke quickly turned on her heel.

"How about you earn it?! You—you're _pathetic._ Your family were walking around New York like _ghosts_. Shadows of our former selves and you were walking around Raleigh with a dirty smile on your face. You don't deserve my respect. You don't deserve Harry's. You don't deserve Matty's and you sure as hell don't deserve mom's." She spat bitterly. It wasn't just Victoria that she had a problem with.

"Your mother did—"

Brooke cut him off; "You're not going to stand here and make excuses. You were _never _committed to making this work with mom in the first place. Dad, I didn't want you to be sad. I wanted you to want your life and I'm sorry that we weren't enough for you." She said through her tears.

"Brooke—"

"So please. Don't stand here and demand anything from me. You have no right." She said quietly before turning and leaving a guilty Ted in her wake.

Brooke had made amends with her dad in the aftermath of their hospital showdown, but it wasn't until she moved to Raleigh herself that they_ really_ made amends and built a strong relationship with him. It was the kind of relationship she wished she'd had with her dad growing up. She was terrified to lose it, which was why she felt she was being so harsh on Kate. She was terrified to lose the family she didn't even appreciate she had.

She made her way to the stairwell of the hospital and sat for 10 minutes before Lucas walked through, surprised to see her sitting there.

"Seeking a moment of solitude?" he asked as he sat beside her.

"Yeah. I can tell this day is going to be a long one..."

"What's up?" he asked softly.

"When I was 16, I watched my family fall apart. We weren't the tightest of units but suddenly – we were nothing at all. It took me a while to come to terms with the destruction of my life, but I embraced this new family that I got. I learned to even _love_ it. I got a great step-father and an _insane _step-mother who drives me nuts most of the time… but a step-mother who cares about me. And now—now I can see it falling apart right in front of me. _Again._ I don't want to lose it." She confessed.

Brooke rarely talked about her life before New York. She still found it difficult that she could never have it back. But Lucas knew she had grown to appreciate the life she made here. He also recognised that the break down of her family had affected Brooke in more ways that she'd realised. No wonder she was so scared of relationships – nothing ever lasted in her life.

"If it's as special as you say it is, then there's no way everyone else doesn't see it that way. They won't let it go without a fight. All they can do is fight." He advised.

"How come you always know to say the right thing?" she asked in disbelief. Despite everything, he still knew how to make her feel better.

"I want to do right by you." He said sincerely as Brooke gazed at him for a minute, before she turned her head away from him, knowing if she looked any further in his eyes, she wouldn't want to stop.

* * *

After being hazed by Brooke for the rest of the day, Kate realised that this wasn't something she should just brush under the rug. This project in New York meant a lot to Ted and she should be willing to compromise with him and find a solution. 12 years of marriage had to mean something, right? So, she decided to fly out to New York for the weekend to talk to Ted and try and find a happy medium. At the very least, she was also excited to spend some time with her husband. Brooke was thrilled when Kate told her she was going out there. She was hopeful that they could put their stubbornness aside and make it work. As difficult as Kate could be, Brooke could see that she mad her dad happy and that was all she wanted for him.

However, as Brooke made her way into the hospital the following Monday, she was on the war path. She had her suspicions that Kate never made it to New York in the end. In fact, it was more than suspicions, she was _certain_ she bailed—and she didn't know what to think.

As she stood by the elevator, ready to hunt Kate down and find out the truth, the doors opened and Lucas appeared.

"Brooke! There she is." Lucas greeted happily as he approached a confused Brooke in the hallway. "Good weekend?" he asked as he stepped off the elevator.

"Uh… yeah, it—it was fine" she said, a little confused as to why he was in such a good mood.

"An exciting one I'm sure, but probably not as exciting as what I have planned for you today." He said as he handed her the tablet of charts. _Shit._ Brooke thought. She was on Lucas' service? Fantastic, just when she thought her day couldn't get much worse, it had done so before it had even begun.

Brooke scrolled through them and grimaced; "Breast enhancements and nose jobs?" she asked, unimpressed.

"Oh, you need to fix that attitude… today is all about instilling confidence. Changing lives and at the end, you just might get an invite to join me in plastics." He said with a wide smile as Brooke raised her eyebrows.

"I'm sorry… you want me to be your trainee? You want to be my Kirk Walker?" she asked, just to clarify that Lucas had the right person. Last time she checked, they were on no speaking terms.

"No, we already had a Kirk Walker, I want to be the next best thing." He clarified, knowing that no one could replace Kirk Walker—especially to his goddaughter.

"Lucas, we agreed to stay out of each other's way, how did you think this would be a good idea?" Brooke asked seriously as she handed the tablet back to him. He may have provided some comfort to her the other day, but she knew it probably wasn't a good idea to allow him into her life any further.

"Before everything that went down, we were friends Brooke and I'd like for us to get there again. However long it takes." He said sincerely.

"And you think having me as part of this dynamic duo you're trying to recreate is the way forward?" she asked, completely sceptical of the idea.

"You're a hell of a doctor. Probably the best in your year, it's a race to snatch you up" Lucas said with a smile. Brooke was a great surgeon and every department was looking to snatch her into their speciality.

Brooke sniggered; "As flattered as I am—"

"Oh come on, you're on my service today anyway, so let's just see how things go, then we can revisit the whole plastics thing." He proposed.

Brooke scrunched up her nose; "I think you may have to let that dream die Lucas…"

As Lucas was about to try and convince her further, Kate walked past. When she spotted Brooke, she froze momentarily before giving her a tight-lipped, awkward smile and walking on.

"I have to go" Brooke said to Lucas.

"Uh, nose jobs and boob enhancements await you Davis!" Lucas called as Brooke walked away.

"I know, postpone my big day in plastics just for like 10 minutes, I'll be back!" she assured him as Lucas sighed and watched her chase after Kate.

She soon managed to catch her just as she was about to get on the elevator at the opposite end of the lobby.

"Hey" Brooke greeted as she got on the elevator and Kate looked freaked. Like she had something to hide. Brooke then hit the button and stood beside her step mother.

"Hi" Kate replied quietly.

Brooke turned around to look at her and crossed her arms; "How was your weekend? In New York? With your husband?" she asked.

"It was fun… why are you addressing him as my 'husband'?" Kate asked. He was her dad after all, she didn't need to talk about him like he was a stranger.

Brooke shrugged; "Just making sure you still knew who he was." She said cryptically.

Kate sighed, not in the mood for whatever game Brooke was trying to play. "I'm a little exhausted you know" she said as she elevator doors opened again, and Rachel got on.

"But the good kind of exhausted, right?" Rachel asked with a smirk.

Brooke grimaced; "Rachel, gross, that's my dad."

"Did we even push the button cause it's just—" Kate said as she pressed the button multiple times, desperate to get out of this situation.

As if this situation couldn't get any worse, the doors opened again, and Nathan got on.

"Welcome back Dr. Grant" He said with a smile, having heard all about the weekend from Brooke. Kate looked between the three residents nervously. Nathan and Rachel were like siblings to Brooke, they'd probably come for her just as fiercely as Brooke would.

"Kate was just about to tell us about her weekend with my dad." Brooke informed him as Kate squirmed. Brooke was on to her, she just knew it.

"Oh really?" Nathan asked, not sure that he wanted to know about it...

Thankfully for Kate, the elevator doors opened, and she quickly got off. "I gotta run!" she said as the others followed her out and watched her literally sprint away from them.

Brooke looked at her friends suspiciously before they all quickly huddled round; "Has Kate said anything to anybody about her weekend?"

"I haven't heard anything." Rachel said as Nathan agreed.

"Something's not right and I'm going to get to the bottom of it." Brooke said with certainty.

Rachel smirked, "Oh Brookie, when you're onto something you know the truth will get out."

_"Exactly_. She cannot pull the wool over Brooke Penelope Davis' eyes, I will not be side tracked on this mission to find out about this weekend."

Nathan quirked an eyebrow, "Really? You won't be side tracked? Not even by… Lucas?"

Brooke glared, "What does Lucas have to do with any of this?"

"Nothing… he just told me that he's going to try and recruit you into plastics."

Brooke rolled her eyes, "He told you about that? What is his deal anyway, I can't believe he actually would want to work with me."

"Brooke, the guy is desperate to be your friend again. Despite contrary belief – he isn't a bad guy, he just made a mistake. Are you really going to punish him for the rest of his life?" Nathan asked.

"… I kind of hate that you're friends." Brooke grumbled as she folded her arms and pouted. "And I am not punishing him, it's called self-care. I'm recognising that he makes my life difficult and I am distancing myself."

"Last time I checked Brookie, he was one of the best things to ever happen to you" Rachel reasoned.

Brooke's mouth fell open in disbelief, _"Rachel!"_ she exclaimed as she smacked her friend's arm. "I cannot believe you are advocating for him! Last time I checked you were ready to _castrate_ him if he even so much as _looked_ at me."

"I know and if that's what you want I'll still hold on to that grudge" Rachel said holding her hands up. She was prepared to defend her friend through thick and thin, but she had a funny feeling that Brooke was ready to let her resentment go too. "Look, you have Julian, you're in a good place – what's the harm on being on good professional terms with Lucas?"

Brooke didn't know what to respond, and thankfully she didn't have to as she got a text from Lucas telling her she needed to come for rounds now. She sighed and grimaced at her friends before sulking away, not excited for what the day had to hold.

* * *

After rounding on Lucas' patients, Brooke made her way into their first surgery. It was a nose job on a 50 year old woman, and Brooke couldn't quite understand why this woman was wanting to change her nose. From what she could see it was a perfectly fine nose.

"And we'll use the rasp to smooth out the bridge…" Lucas explained as Brooke observed and aided his surgery.

"She could come out looking like a completely different person." Brooke mumbled. If anything, she figured she was probably fighting against this because she didn't want to have to work under Lucas for any longer than necessary.

"I fixed your nose when Peyton broke it, you don't look any different." Lucas reminded her.

"That was because a) I threatened you and b) all you had to do was reset it, not completely reassign it." Brooke argued.

"Yeah, definitely nothing to do with my skill and technique…" Lucas boasted.

Brooke rolled her eyes, "Get your head out of your ass Scott."

Lucas chuckled, "I learned from the best."

"Kirk may be a good surgeon, but his morals are not something that should be taken on board." Brooke argued. As much as she loved her godfather, he really wasn't the best role model.

"I don't know. If Kirk was doing this surgery, he would say that it was great that this patient could now look in the mirror and by happy with what she saw. That doesn't sound like some bad morals to me."

"But what if it's not her nose that makes her unhappy? What if it's another part of her life and she just trying to hide behind her image?" Brooke questioned.

"I know my patients have made the right choice because I have long conversations with them. I listen, I understand them and their motives and the people in their lives. Plastics isn't just about cutting into someone and changing how they look. It's listening to a patient's needs with an open heart and making them feel good." Lucas argued. "You may not always agree with what they're doing, but it's not your decision to make."

Brooke was silenced by Lucas' response. Maybe she had been a little unfair about plastics. She also wondered if she was being unfair to Kate before she'd even heard all the story. Her dad's marriage wasn't hers to pass judgement on and Kate's decisions weren't something she had to agree with, but she should be a good daughter and listen. Maybe that's all Kate needed – someone to listen.

* * *

After finishing the surgery, Brooke and Lucas were scrubbing out in silence. They really didn't know if small talk was even on the cards for them. Since Lucas was so determined to break them out of this weird place they were in, he decided to take the first step.

"That was good work today Brooke." He complimented as Brooke nodded and turned off the tap.

"Thanks…" she said awkwardly, turning away from him and drying her hands.

"Even if you did run away from me at the start…" He teased.

"Well, I'm just so in demand, what can I say?" Brooke joked. She didn't think it was necessary to fill him in on her family drama. It wasn't his responsibility to listen and care anymore.

Lucas smirked; "So, you still willing to be a part of a dynamic plastics duo? Take Raleigh Med by storm?" he asked.

Brooke stood taller, hating that she was admitting this, but she replied with, "I won't rule it out."

"I'll take it… what about the friends thing?" he asked more cautiously.

Brooke paused for a moment. They had actually made it through the day without making sly digs at each other. They managed to stay focused on work, they managed to have a few laughs. Maybe being friends wasn't completely out of the question. "… I won't rule it out either." She said quietly as she walked away, leaving Lucas with a smile on his face.

* * *

Brooke made her way round to the attendings lounge to find Kate and try to talk to her about everything. She wasn't sure how she was going to approach it, but she hoped the right thing would come to her in the moment.

She was glad when she got to the lounge that Kate was there alone, getting ready to go home. She knocked lightly on the door as Kate's head shot up and she just stared a Brooke, knowing that this conversation might not go well.

"Kate, I'm a terrible liar and I'm also not one to beat around the bush so I'm just going to come out with it- you packed a suitcase full of lingerie and then you went away for the weekend."

"Yeah, I—"

"Dad called me three times Kate." Brooke quickly told her before she told another lie. "He was asking where you were. Meanwhile, you texted me telling me what a great time you were having. So whatever or _whoever_ you were doing this weekend—this is my _dad_ we're talking about. I am not on your side and I _hate_ lying." She made clear. She guessed she was going to play hardball after all.

"I'm not cheating on my husband." Kate said sternly.

"Then where were you?"

"It's really not a big deal—"

"Then why are you being so weird about it?!" Brooke said, cutting Kate off. "You have to tell me _something."_

"I_ have_ to?" Kate said, raising an eyebrow. In her eyes, she didn't owe Brooke anything.

"I lied to my _dad_ for you!" Brooke said in a disgusted tone. She'd told Ted that she must have been caught up with work and her phone died. _God_, why did _everyone_ in this family have to be so damn _stubborn?_

"I'm sorry if I put you in a position where you felt that you had to lie for me, but that doesn't make this any of your business."

"Of course this is my business. This is _my_ father, _my_ family. I watched my family fall apart once, I won't do it again." She said through her teeth.

Brooke Davis knew loss. That much about her life was evident. It was categorized by periods of love and periods of loss. One extreme to the next. Kate Grant knew loss too. Right now, she understood why she was angry. Why she felt she deserved an explanation, and she was right to want to know. She was right to know why she lied to her dad. One of her most favourite people in the world.

Kate sat on the arm of the sofa and let out a breath, ready to tell Brooke the truth. "I went to the airport, I got through security, I went up to the gate, they called my boarding group and I just stood there. I froze, I didn't get on the plane. I watched the plane take off from behind the glass, I got in my car and I left. I didn't know how to tell anyone that I didn't get on the plane to visit my husband. So I drove to one of those hotels by the airport." Kate explained.

Brooke looked at her surprised; "And you stayed there all weekend?"

"Yeah."

Brooke nodded. She was angry and she wanted an explanation, but this certainly wasn't the explanation she was expecting.

"You were embarrassed, so you hid. I get it." Brooke said with a shrug, finally calming down a little. She remembered what Lucas had said in the OR. She needed to be patient and listen. Kate was taken aback that Brooke had chosen to be understanding in that moment. It wasn't like her. Or maybe, she just didn't really know the real Brooke, just like Brooke didn't really know the real Kate. They'd never really taken the time after all.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you." Kate apologised.

"I'm sorry I assumed."

"I don't blame you." Kate said with a scoff. She would have been inclined to assume the worst too.

"Just—talk to him. Please. He calls me every day and he's not going to stop asking me about it until he gets answers and like I said - I hate lying." Brooke encouraged softly.

Kate was surprised that she was still lying for her. The Brooke she knew would have been quick to undermine Kate. Maybe she had been wrong about her. Maybe Brooke cared about her relationship with Ted more than she realised.

* * *

**I love that little moment in the stairwell... it's sweet. I hope you liked it too! Let me know your thoughts on the chapter in the reviews.**

**Next chapter, Brooke reminds Kate just how much Ted loves her, Julian's parents arrive in town, Julian has an important question to ask and Brooke questions how it should feel to love someone...**


	14. What is Love?

**This is a slightly longer chapter than usual so there is a lot to digest... it also has one of my favourite moments of the story at the end. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen – What is love?**

A few days later, Brooke and Rachel were walking through the hospital's corridors when Lucas walked past. He smiled when he saw them both.

"Morning Dr. Gatina, Dr. Davis" he greeted.

"Dr. Scott" Brooke said, returning his greeting and his smile before walking on.

Rachel looked back at Lucas and then at Brooke. "What was that?" she asked.

"What was what?"

"You just _smiled _at him. You just smiled at _Lucas_" Rachel recounted, confused as to what was happening.

Brooke shrugged; "He said good morning, I was being polite—"

"The fact that he even said good morning to you in the first place is _bold_." As far as Rachel was concerned, Lucas didn't have the right to say anything to Brooke, not even hello. She may have been secretly rooting for the guy, but she was also convinced that he had to earn her affection. He had to earn that hello.

"He's trying to recruit me to plastics and earn back my friendship" Brooke explained.

"I know, but I didn't think he would actually succeed..." Rachel commented, a little taken aback by how relaxed Brooke was being about the whole thing. Not a week ago, Brooke would have hidden in closets just to avoid walking past Lucas. Her good nature meant she couldn't walk past him and say nothing, so she just bolted in order to avoid any kind of interaction. But now, now they were on their way to being friends?

"It's my job and if it means I get to change lives then who cares who it's with? We're all adults around here." Brooke reasoned.

"You are a good person Brooke Davis." Rachel said, proud of her friend for putting her past behind her.

"Oh thanks" Brooke mocked with a laugh as they approached Kate who was staring into space.

"Hey, what's up?" Brooke asked, wondering why she was so dazed.

"I called your father and a woman answered his phone." Kate explained as Brooke and Rachel both formed an o shape with their mouths. It appeared that Kate being the bigger person and calling Ted had back fired – big time.

"Oh…" Brooke replied, not really sure what to say. "Are you sure it wasn't my mother? Dad's been visiting Matty quite a lot…"

"No, it wasn't Victoria, I know Victoria's voice, it strikes fear into my soul." Kate recalled with a shiver. Victoria never had been particularly warm with Kate. "She was perky and she sounded happy and tall with a lot of great hair." Kate explained with a groan.

"Ugh. I hate voices like that." Rachel moaned with an eye roll. "What did the chief say?"

"I didn't talk to him, I keep going to voice mail. He's not cheating on me, right?"

"He's not cheating on you." Both Brooke and Rachel quickly affirmed.

"Dad thinks the sun shines out of your ass on most days." Brooke added as Kate scoffed. "Don't sweat about what you don't know. I'm sure there's a perfectly logical explanation for it."

"Such as?" Kate asked as Brooke and Rachel looked at each other. She hadn't anticipated Kate actually looking for an explanation from her, it was just something that you say to make someone feel better…

"He probably just lost his phone and some random lady found it." Brooke suggested quickly.

"_Stretch_." Kate shot down.

"Or it was stolen. Some woman stole it and answered it." Rachel suggested, only half serious.

"… _no_."

"Stole what?" Peyton asked as she approached and crossed her arms over her chest in concern and looked between the three women.

"Dad's phone, Kate rang and a woman answered so now we're talking her off a ledge." Brooke explained, though she was starting to believe that nothing could save them.

"Oh, I'm good at this!" Peyton exclaimed. "The number of times I have had to talk Lucas of a ledge – the guy can be a real worry wart and I am so good at coming up with options and alternatives to ease the stress of a situation" She boasted as Brooke and Rachel awkwardly nodded their heads.

"What you got Sawyer?" Rachel asked, intrigued to see where she would take this.

"He was in surgery and a nurse picked it up, they pick up our phones all the time. He was in the lab and a research assistant picked it up. He was in the bathroom and a janitor picked it up. He was in an accident and a paramedic picked it up—"

_"Woah"_ Brooke said quickly, not wanting to consider the possibility that her dad was in an accident.

"It's not the best option, but viable..." Peyton said quietly, realising that she'd maybe gotten a little carried away.

"He's done this before." Kate mumbled.

Rachel frowned; "Done what?"

"Moved to a new city, got a new job, ignored his wife's calls, met a girl, fell in love, started over."

"_What?"_ Peyton exclaimed in disbelief.

Brooke eyed Peyton curiously; "Where did you think my brothers and I came from, Peyton?" she asked.

"… good point." Peyton said with a little laugh

"He left Victoria when their marriage got hard, moved to Raleigh, met me - What if he's doing the same thing now?" Kate asked, completely panicked.

"First of all – from what I understand, you and Ted have a much better marriage than Ted and Victoria had" Rachel said, remembering what Brooke had told her over tthe years. "Plus, the guy can barely keep his eyes off you whenever you're in the same room. So you had a fight – big deal, couples go through rough patches. I really don't think it's enough for him to find someone else."

"Kate, I have lived with you upon occasion and I know what you two are like," Brooke began, trying to find her own pearl of wisdom for this situation; "_unfortunately_ I have heard the sex noises and I have been a part of the drama and the tears and there's just no way that dad is—you and dad made me believe in love again. You proved to me that it _exists_, that it _works_, that there is _hope_. I can't believe I am saying this after everything we have been through but… I can't imagine a better life than the one you two have built for yourselves and for us Davis kids." Brooke said sincerely as Kate was taken aback by her words.

"Wow…" she said, truly touched by Brooke's words. However—they just weren't enough. "There is still some woman in New York. What if she met Ted one night and what if he fell for her? I'm pretty sure her people are rooting for her too. I gotta go…" she said sheepishly as she swiftly walked away.

* * *

Over the next few days, Brooke desperately tried to contact both Kate and Ted, but she was having zero luck. Neither of them appeared to be willing to talk to her about what was going on and she was a little fed up about being kept in the dark. She didn't know what more she could do to help them out of this messy situation, but it soon transpired that she didn't have to do anything more. She walked into the lobby of the hospital that Monday morning and stopped when she saw someone she wasn't expecting at the nurse's station.

"_Dad?"_ she called as Ted turned around and smiled widely at her.

"Surprise" he said as he walked towards her and hugged her.

"This is a surprise" she said with a wide smile and she hugged her father tightly. She had really missed him. It was so good seeing him back in his navy blue scrubs and white lab coat.

"I'm back, for good." He explained.

"You're kidding" Brooke said, her smile getting wider.

"Nope. I'll need to travel back and forward from New York for a couple of weeks but after that, I'm here to stay." After a long discussion with Kate yesterday, he realised what was important. He realised that here, with her, is where he needed and wanted to be.

"I'm _really_ glad you're back. This place isn't the same without you here" Brooke told him.

Ted smiled at his daughter; "I'm glad I'm back too. I really missed you honey. I missed seeing that smile everyday" he said with a laugh as Brooke smiled widely too and playfully rolled her eyes. Her dad always told her when she was little that her smile could cure even the saddest of hearts. "In other news, I brought the boys back with me." Ted said, referring to her brothers.

"Really? How come?" Brooke asked.

"Well I have surgery today that I could use Harrison's help on and Matty didn't want to feel left out while we had a good time here." Ted said with a smile.

"Yeah, the pace of New York got a little too much for the old man." Harrison said as he walked over and patted Ted on the back. "Hi Brookie"

"Harry" Brooke said as she quickly hugged him.

"The pace of New York did not get too much for me – I just like the pace here better." Ted said with a proud smile. "Besides, some things are just more important" he replied as Brooke and Harrison nodded knowingly. "I'll catch you guys later." He said as he walked off to get on with his work.

Brooke turned to Harrison with a beaming smile; "looks like we're finally getting the band back together" she joked in a stupid voice as Harrison laughed.

"You are _so_ lame."

* * *

As Ted wandered around the hospital for an update on all the departments since he had been gone for a while, Julian quickly caught up with him. He had something he had been dying to ask Ted about and felt now was the time. Things had been moving from strength to strength with Brooke and he knew he had found the one in her and he was keen to take that next step.

"Dr. Davis" he called as they fell into step with one another.

"Dr. Baker, good to see you. Still treating my daughter well?"

"Yes sir." He said with a little laugh. "I was actually hoping to talk to you about Brooke—"

"I was just on my way to speak to Dr. Scott about the plastics department, grab me later and we'll talk!" Ted insisted as he rushed on.

Julian let out a breath. He was incredibly nervous for what he had to say. He had been planning it out in his head for weeks now. He just hoped that he didn't sound like an idiot when the words actually started to form.

_"Julian!"_ He heard behind him and his breath caught in his throat. _Please be a dream, please be a dream... nope not a dream. _He turned around and came face to face with his_ parents_.

"Mom? Dad? What—what are you doing here?" he said as he hugged his mom and shook his dad's hand.

"Well, we went to visit Tripp and we thought it would be _completely_ unfair for us not to visit you even though you won't come see us..." Sylvia Baker said passive aggressively, referring to Julian's younger brother.

"I've been very busy" Julian replied as he gritted his jaw. As much as he loved his parents, he also would have loved a little warning that they were coming.

"Obviously not too busy to find yourself a girl and keep her as long as you have." Sylvia reminded him. "It's been almost 6 months, hasn't it?"

Julian smiled. "Oh, I see, you didn't want to see me you wanted to meet my girlfriend..."

"Hm._ Both_. So, where is she?" Sylvia asked eagerly as she looked all around her. Julian hadn't told them much about Brooke, just that she worked at the hospital and she was pretty much the best person he'd ever met.

"She is working like I should be, you should have called." Julian told them.

"Don't give us that Julian." His father scolded. "Now who's the head of neurosurgery, I want to know how this place is run..." he said looking around him. He was a pioneer in neuroscience, so naturally he wanted to make sure that the department his son was now working for was up to scratch. Just as Julian was about to tell him, Rachel walked over and held out some scans.

"Julian, could I get a consult later, pregnant woman, 22 years old, showing signs of a brain tumour?" Rachel asked, handing him the scans.

"Yeah no problem" he said as he held onto the scans.

"Great thanks… hi" Rachel said, realising that Julian had been with some people.

"Oh sorry, mom dad this is Dr. Rachel Gatina, Rachel is very good friends with Brooke." Julian introduced as they shook hands and Rachel tried to contain her surprise.

"Sylvia Baker, lovely to meet you"

"Paul Baker."

"I have heard great things about you Dr. Baker, I've read a number of your papers." Rachel politely told him, while on the inside, she was _screaming_. Julian's parents were here, and Brooke had no idea. She was going to _freak._

"Thank you Dr. Gatina. You're working in a great hospital, the Davis are renowned in New York. Ted's work there is greatly missed, I'm sure Raleigh is benefiting immensely from his presence." Paul replied.

"It definitely is. I have to run to surgery, but it was lovely to meet you, I'll hopefully see you again before you leave?" Rachel questioned. She felt like it was her job as Brooke's best friend to make sure she wasn't getting herself into a crazy family.

"Absolutely Dr. Gatina."

"Great, I'll see you later" she said with a smile before rushing away, desperate to tell Nathan about who was here.

"Why don't you guys go see Seattle and we can meet up later?" Julian suggested.

"No, I'm going to find this head of neuro." Paul insisted as he wandered off and Sylvia quickly followed.

"There you are" He heard behind him as Brooke appeared. "Can I get a consult?" Brooke asked as she approached him, but Julian was too busy looking at his parents who had just disappeared around the corner. "Who you looking at?" She asked.

"uh...my parents"

Brooke's eyes widened. "Your _parents_ are here?"

"yeah..."

Brooke groaned. _"Great..._ I look like I haven't slept for a _month,_ they're going to think I'm scum of the earth."

"Just tell them you're a Manhattan prep school kid and talk about the surgical dynasty you're from, you'll be fine" Julian encouraged her.

"Thanks for that, clearly being myself isn't the way forward here." Brooke said rolling her eyes. She didn't exactly want the Davis dynasty to be the thing that defined her, but it clearly meant something to Julian.

"Yeah that too…"

"I'm going to go wash up in case I run into them. We can go meet your parents after work"

"Actually, it will have to wait till tomorrow"

"Why?" Brooke asked curiously.

"I have plans..." he said vaguely.

"What kind of plans?" She pried further.

"Just going out for drinks, aren't you, Haley and Rachel having a girl's night anyway?" Julian reminded her, trying to distract the attention of the drink he was going to have with Ted.

"Yeah but I would have rescheduled... Why are your drinks so important, your parents are going to think I'm not keen to meet them." Brooke told him. She had such a rough time with Karen Scott, so she really wanted this one to go well.

"It'll be fine, maybe you'll run into them in the hospital" He said as he kissed her cheek, took the scans out of her hand and walked on.

"I don't know what they look like!" Brooke said. Julian didn't have many pictures of his family around his apartment. He wasn't really the sentimental type.

"I love you!" he called after her.

"_Jerk..."_ she grumbled as she turned around and sulked away, nervous for what the day might bring.

* * *

Rachel rushed around the hospital to find Nathan and tell him what was about to go down. Eventually, she found him working in a side room with Haley and Lucas.

"You will never guess who just showed up at the hospital" she said with a smirk as she perched on the desk beside Lucas.

"Who?"

"Julian's _parents."_

Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned around to look at Rachel. They were all thinking the same thing. Brooke is going to _freak_.

"Paul Baker is here?" Nathan said, interested to meet the man, but nervous for his friend.

"Yep… he seems kind of stern, Brooke is going to panic" Rachel said with a grimace.

"Should we warn her?" Haley asked, a little concerned about the whole thing.

"She'll be fine" Lucas commented. "My mother was _beyond_ rude to her and she handled it like a pro. I can't imagine this encounter will be worse than that."

"You know, I overheard Julian tell the chief he wanted to talk to him about something later. Something to do with Brooke, but I have no idea what." Nathan told them with a shrug.

Haley chuckled, "I could probably take a wild guess." Everyone eyed her curiously, waiting for where this was going. "He's going to ask if he can marry Brooke. Not that he needs permission. It's very respectful of him though. I knew I would like him." Haley said, not fully understanding the implications of what she'd just said.

Nathan immediately looked at Rachel with wide eyes while Lucas sunk back in his chair with a gulp. _Stop it Lucas, you're with Peyton, you made your choice, Brooke's relationship is none of your concern_ – he tried to tell himself, but it wasn't much use. He felt _deflated._

"No way..." Nathan mumbled in disbelief. Brooke getting married. There was no way she would say yes, right? She liked the guy, hell, she probably even loved the guy a bit, but she'd been very clear that she wasn't about to rush things in any relationship she got into. This sounded like rushing to him. He was also a little pissed that Julian clearly didn't know Brooke well enough to know that that was something she didn't want.

"She doesn't have the best examples of marriage in her life, she probably won't say yes" Rachel commented. She briefly glanced at Lucas and noticed that he was just looking at his work, not really engaging with them. Rachel didn't think Brooke would say yes for more than the examples of marriage she had in her life. She wouldn't say yes because she wasn't over _Lucas_. That much was clear. She could claim all she wanted that she didn't care about him– it had been almost 8 months after all, but Rachel knew better. She could see right through him.

"Rachel stop being so cynical." Haley scolded, forcing Rachel to turn away from Lucas. "Ted and Kate are good, Victoria and Martin are good and she has a number of good relationships around her to make her believe in love again. She's a real romantic at heart, despite how much she likes to deny it and I know she will say yes." Haley said confidently.

Rachel just nodded her head, figuring this wasn't something to get into an argument over. Brooke and Haley had become fast friends, but Haley just didn't know her like Rachel did. Brooke may have had a lot of love in her heart, but it certainly wasn't for just one person.

"I just want her to be happy and at the end of the day—only she knows what truly makes her happy." Rachel said, trying to sound as diplomatic as possible. Brooke knew her own mind and she would do what she knew was right for herself.

* * *

Brooke stood in the cue at the coffee cart, that afternoon, desperate for her 3pm caffeine fix. It had been a long day of anticipation and she felt like she was constantly looking over her shoulder, waiting for Julian to spring his parents on her.

"That's $3.75" the guy at the cart told the lady in front of her.

"Oh, I only have $3..." the customer said. Brooke reached forward and handed the lady at the cart 75 cents.

"Oh, you really don't have to—" the woman said in guilty protest.

"It's fine really, I know if I didn't get my coffee I would crash" Brooke said with a smile.

"Well thank you." Brooke quickly paid for her coffee then walked away with the woman. There was just something so familiar about her, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was.

"Are you a doctor here?" the lady asked.

"Yeah I'm a surgical resident. I'm Brooke" She introduced as they shook hands.

"Brooke? Brooke Davis?" the woman asked excitedly.

"Uh, yeah, that's—that's me…" Brooke said as she looked at the woman, completely confused by her excitement.

"Oh my goodness it is so nice to finally meet you! I'm Sylvia Baker." She said as she held onto Brooke's hand tightly.

Brooke eyes widened, "Oh my god you're Julian's mom. I am so sorry that I didn't recognise you. I was just thinking there was something so familiar about you and now I know what – your eyes are Julian's eyes" she rambled with a little laugh.

"Well since we're talking about eyes, yours are just _beautiful_!" Sylvia said as she carefully eyed Brooke in wonder. "Julian certainly has done well for himself." She said with a little laugh.

"Oh I am definitely the lucky one." Brooke said. "Is your husband with you?" Brooke asked, she knew he was but he didn't appear to be around.

"Oh he went and found the neurosurgery department, can't say it really interests me so I came looking for coffee" she said as she held up her cup. "But come, let's go back there so we can introduce you two." Sylvia said as she linked her arm through Brooke's and pulled her along.

* * *

A few minutes later, Brooke and Sylvia walked into the neurosurgery department laughing away. There was something about each other that made them instantly click.

"You guys having fun there?" Julian asked when they entered the lab he and his father were in.

"Julian, your mom is hilarious!" Brooke complimented as they continued to giggle.

"Paul I was just telling Brooke here about our time in Cabo--" Sylvia started.

Paul's stance stiffened. "Sylvia..." He said in an embarrassed and warning tone.

"_Hilarious_!" Brooke insisted.

Julian smiled, glad that Brooke and his mother had gotten on so well from the get go. "I'm glad you two finally got to meet. Dad, this is Brooke Davis, Brooke, my dad Paul Baker."

"It's nice to meet you Dr. Baker." Brooke said as she walked forward and shook his hand. Paul didn't crack a smile and Brooke felt a real coldness reflecting off him.

"and you Dr. Davis. What are you hoping to specialise in?" He asked, clearly wanting to keep the conversation as polite and proper as possible.

"I've always had a real passion for neurosurgery, but I'm keeping my options open." Brooke informed him.

"Ah… well that's one thing you and Julian have in common." Paul said awkwardly as Brooke nodded. He was clearly a hard man to impress.

"So how long are you in town for?" Brooke asked, quickly trying to move on.

"Just a few days, we're heading down to visit Julian's brother Tripp in Miami afterwards and then Paul has to be back for some seminars in Harvard on Thursday." Sylvia explained.

"Well, we should go out for dinner tomorrow night. I know the best place just around the corner from the hospital." Brooke suggested.

"That would be lovely!" Sylvia said.

"Great, I'll get Julian to call you with the details" Brooke said as she looked at Julian who gave her a reassuring smile. "I have to get back to work, but it was so great to meet you both, I'll look forward to talking properly tomorrow night."

"It was so lovely to meet you Brooke!" Sylvia said as she quickly hugged her.

Brooke let out a little laugh of endearment, "You too Sylvia." She said before leaving the lab.

Sylvia swiftly turned on her heel as Julian turned to his dad and folded his arms, "What exactly is your problem dad?" he asked as Paul frowned.

"I don't have a problem."

Sylvia scoffed, "Julian is right Paul, you were so cold with her."

"I'm just not sure about her." Paul said bluntly.

"What? She's perfect!" Sylvia protested as Julian clenched his jaw. Clearly his mother could defend Brooke for him, he need not say anything.

"She could become too invested in her work" Paul poorly argued.

Sylvia rolled her eyes. "Julian is a neurosurgeon if anything_ he_ could be too invested in his work, they're clearly on the same page."

"She's not Poppy" he tried again, bringing up Julian's ex-girlfriend. Paul had loved Poppy. She fit perfectly into their rich world in Boston.

"Oh for goodness sake Paul, Poppy had a heart of _stone,_ Brooke is intelligent, kind and beautiful. She's not a nobody Paul, she went to private school in Manhattan, her parents are world class surgeons, she's a Davis!" Sylvia argued.

"Guys, stop." Julian asked as his parents turned to look at him. "Dad – I really don't care what you think about Brooke, especially because you're making judgements without taking the time to get to know her. The reality is – I'm going to ask her to marry me, so you better get used to having her around." Julian revealed as Sylvia gasped and he left the room, not wanting to hear any more protests from Paul.

* * *

Brooke walked through the ER on the hunt for Lucas to get him to sign off on some patient forms. She couldn't find him anywhere and figured Peyton was her best bet in locating him.

"Hey Peyton, have you seen Lucas? I need him to sign off on some forms." Brooke explained.

"Yeah, he's down in the morgue."

"The morgue?" Brooke asked curiously. "Has he taken a sudden interest in pathology?" Brooke poorly joked.

Peyton let out a breathy laugh, "No, two firefighters died today, they were brothers. They had some scars and open wounds and their mother wants to see them for the first time so I asked Lucas to sew them up and make them look ok for her."

Brooke nodded her head in sadness. She couldn't possibly imagine how that woman must be feeling having to bury both of her sons at the same time. She soon made her way down to the morgue and looked through the window, spotting Lucas sitting by the men, delicately sewing their wounds.

Brooke opened the door and quietly walked in; "Hey. Peyton told me you were down here doing this."

"Yeah, these two will look as good as they possibly can before their mother sees them one last time." He said as he continued to sew and Brooke looked over his shoulder. "Though it's taking a little longer than I expected. Did you round off on our post-ops?"

"Yeah, they're all good, I just need you to sign off on them, but no rush." She said as she set the forms on a table near by. They fell into a moment of silence before Brooke heard Lucas sniff; "Are you ok?" she asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, it's just sad, you know?" Lucas said with a little shrug. "This is totally something Kirk would do."

Brooke smiled; "That is very true." As arrogant and self-centred as Kirk was, he would have done this without a second thought. Maybe he had more morals to teach Lucas than previously thought.

"He really did treat me like a son. Passed everything on, he got such a charge out of it, making us into a dynamic duo. It got a little stupid sometimes…" Lucas said with a little laugh.

"Oh I remember" Brooke said as they both laughed. They really turned into two brothers constantly joking around. While Lucas was fine on his own, he really did miss Kirk when he left to go back to New York.

"But I want to do that. Pass it on to someone the way he did for me." He said as Brooke nodded quietly; "I don't know, I'm probably not making a lot of sense."

"It makes perfect sense." Brooke said with a sincere smile. She now realised why Lucas was so insistent on getting her into plastics. Kirk had such a profound impact on him that he wanted to offer the same to someone else. Brooke wasn't convinced that she was the one Lucas was meant to pass the baton on to, but she could see how much he cared, how much effort he put in to it. They both knew this dynamic duo stuff was goofy, but tonight she had seen the real heart of it. She had seen the real heart of Lucas and—_she missed it._

"I uh—I hear you met Julian's parents today." Lucas said, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"Oh yeah. It was uh—it was quite the day. I'm not convinced his dad liked me very much."

Lucas chuckled; "That's impossible." He said as Brooke didn't know how to respond. "Who was worse? My mom or Paul Baker?" he asked, remembering that that meeting hadn't gone all that well either.

Brooke chuckled; "That's a tough call. Your mom was _stubborn as hell _but Paul was just _cold_—they're on a power with each other."

"You didn't seem as nervous this time." Lucas observed. Any time he had seen her today she seemed pretty calm, she was especially calm right now. He remembered Brooke had been freaking out before she met Karen—and afterwards too.

Brooke shrugged; "I wasn't. I don't know why but—I mean, I _was _nervous but… I was so desperate to impress your mom and now, it would just be an added bonus if Julian's parents liked me." She confessed.

"I wonder why it felt so different." Lucas pondered quietly.

Brooke paused for a moment. She wondered that too. Why had meeting Karen mattered more to her? "I don't know" she mumbled after a moment, knowing this question would plague her mind for the rest of the night.

* * *

Ted made his way round to the attending's lounge where he had agreed to meet Julian before they went home. He wasn't sure what to expect when he walked into the room. He had heard that Brooke's friends had been speculating about a marriage proposal and he didn't know what to think. He did know that no matter what – this was Brooke's choice.

He saw Julian already in the lounge and smiled at him as he sat opposite him.

"Hey, did you survive your parents?" Ted asked.

"Just about. We're having dinner with them tomorrow night, so who knows how that will go." Julian said with an awkward chuckle.

"They seem great" Ted told him, having met them earlier that day.

"My mom's great, my dad is a little more difficult to stomach." Julian said, not sure he would agree with Ted's rounded opinion. "Anyway, the reason I wanted to talk to you earlier…" Julian said, wanting to get this out before he freaked out. "I never came to Raleigh expecting to meet Brooke, and I certainly never expected to fall in love with her, but I did. I love her so much, I love everything about her, all her little quirks, her beauty, her intelligence, her heart—I can't see myself with anybody else but her. I am so madly in love with your daughter and I wanted your blessing to ask her to marry me."

Ted paused for a moment to consider what Julian had just asked. He wasn't prepared for the feelings that came rushing through him in that moment. It seemed like only yesterday they were trying to hold onto her as she tried to escape to run through Central Park, and now her boyfriend was in front of him, asking if he could marry her. Ted soon realised that Julian was freaking out and that his pause was perhaps a little too long, so he sat forward in his chair, ready with his reply.

"I—I can't bear to see my little girl hurt. She was in a lot of pain after Aiden, she was hurt by Lucas more than she cares to admit. The way you talk about her—I trust you. I trust the love you have for her and I am happy she is so happy. So yes, you have my blessing, but at the end of the day this is her decision… and I hope she'll choose happiness."

Ted liked Julian. He treated Brooke well and he couldn't ask for much more - but he just wasn't so sure that Brooke loved him as much as he loved her. So, he hoped she would choose whatever made her happiest - and it wasn't Ted's choice to make. He could give anyone his blessing but this was Brooke's life to make her own way in.

Julian smiled; "Thank you Dr. Davis."

"Call me Ted."

* * *

A short while later, Ted made his way home and was surprised to see Brooke sitting on the porch of his house, a blanket wrapped around her as she stared up at the stars. He set his brief case down and took his jacket off before sitting beside her on the porch swing.

"Hey. What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I like the quiet around here" she told him with a soft smile. Ted and Kate lived in a pretty secluded area and it was a real place of solitude for the Davis'.

"Me too." He said. They sat in a moment of silence while Ted watched her. She looked a little lost. "What's on your mind kiddo?" he asked as she turned in her seat to fully face him.

"I met Julian's parents today. His mom is awesome, his dad a little difficult to please but uh… it could have been worse. I mean, I've experienced _much_ worse in the form of Karen Scott." Brooke told him.

"Why was it worse?" Ted asked.

"I don't know. I tried so hard to impress Karen that I just made such a _mess _of it. But this time—I didn't feel that same desire or need to impress them… and I don't know why."

Ted could see that this was clearly bothering Brooke and it was frustrating her that she couldn't work out why, so she decided to help her work it out.

"Do you think it has to do with Julian?" he asked.

"In what way?"

"Maybe you don't feel a need to impress them because you can't see yourself being with him forever." Ted said cautiously and he was surprised that Brooke didn't even flinch at that statement.

"He makes me happy. Things are good. They're easy, they're simple. Isn't that how love is supposed to feel?" Brooke asked. She didn't even know how to tell if love was true or not at this stage.

"Personally… I don't think it would be love if it didn't consume every part of you. It wouldn't be love if the thought of it not being there didn't feel like it would destroy you." Ted confessed.

Brooke nodded. "I know how that feels. With Aiden, with—" she said before trailing off. She hated confessing that she loved Lucas. But she did and what he did to her broke her.

"Lucas?" Ted said, finishing her sentence, realising that he had found the root of her problem.

Brooke scoffed; "Whatever I had with Lucas wasn't real—"

"It was real. He just had a lot of unresolved issues with Peyton." Ted said. He knew all too well that it was possible to love more than one person. He knew a part of him still loved Victoria while he was falling in love with Kate. He just knew he and Victoria couldn't do what they were doing anymore.

"Maybe that's why I like this simple thing I have with Julian. I don't feel like I could get hurt because I have been hurt two too many times." Brooke confessed. Just because it was easy to love Julian, didn't necessarily make it right. It didn't necessarily mean that her heart soared every time she saw him.

"There's a difference between guarding your heart and not feeling at all… and not feeling is not a solution." Ted advised her as she nodded her head and looked down.

"I love Julian. I do and I know this probably sounds crazy… but there's a hole in my heart where Lucas used to be." Brooke confessed. Ever since she had met him, there was an instant connection. There was a fire between them that they couldn't seem to put out no matter how hard they tried. She wasn't convinced she would ever connect with someone in the way that she connected with him.

"That doesn't sound crazy at all." Ted assured her, as she remained silent, unsure what to do.

* * *

**These realisations are going to have repercussions... don't forget to review!**


	15. Any Last Words?

**So I borrowed a surgical storyline from Grey's Anatomy from this chapter. It's a funny one put also kind of horrible so fair warning!**

**A few of your have been asking for some Lucas POV - and we get a little bit of it in this chapter, so I hope you enjoy finding out where his head as been at for the past while!**

**Julian has an important question for Brooke, the Davis' get emotional and Karen makes Lucas have some doubts… enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen** \- **Any Last Words?**

Brooke woke up the following morning and had the weirdest feeling in the pit of her stomach. She couldn't quite work out what it was, but it was strange none the less. She got up, freshened up and made her way into the kitchen and saw that Julian had been cooking pancakes.

"Hey, you're up!" he said with a smile as he piled the pancakes onto a plate. "They're strawberry, do you want some?" he asked.

The thought of pancakes immediately made her mind float to her family. She wondered what they were doing right now. Maybe they were eating pancakes too. The Davis' always had a thing for banana pancakes. It was a staple in their house growing up and they only saved them for special occasions. Before Brooke could reply, Harrison, who had been staying with Brooke while aiding Ted with his complicated surgery, came into the kitchen looking about as lost as Brooke did.

"Uh... we're actually going to run to my dad's house really quick." Brooke said. She had a funny feeling that Harrison was feeling as uneasy as her.

"You ok?" he asked, wondering why she felt this urgent need to go see her dad.

"Yeah, yeah I just... fancy paying him a visit." she said as she lifted her keys and left with Harrison behind her.

"Mom called… she made chocolate chip pancakes this morning and I don't know, I just had this weird feeling that I needed to be at dad's right now." Harrison said as he got into the passenger seat of Brooke's car."

"I know exactly how you feel..." Brooke said quietly as she turned the ignition on and drove away. It didn't take long to get to Ted's house. When the stepped onto the porch, they both froze and looked at each other. "Do you smell that?" Brooke said as the two Davis' peered in the window of the house. They spotted Ted, Kate and Matty all sitting in the kitchen eating.

"Banana pancakes." they both said as they quickly opened the door.

"Wow, you sensed the pancakes huh?" Ted said with a snigger as his two eldest children descended into the kitchen.

"I can't believe you didn't call us and tell us you were having banana pancakes, thank_ God_ we're here" Brooke said as she quickly took a plate and sat down beside Matty.

"I am out right offended that you would even_ consider_ eating these pancakes without us." Harrison said as he took his pancakes and sat down beside Brooke.

"You guys are weird, did you seriously just come over here to eat _pancakes?"_ Matty asked. He was so young when they used to eat them altogether, just the 5 of them, so he probably couldn't remember just how special it felt to do so.

"Not just any pancakes Matty, the best pancakes on the _entire_ planet." Harrison reminded him.

"Well yeah that's true but you could have just made them at your own home" he suggested.

"There's just something special about eating them with you." Brooke said as she kissed his cheek and he pushed her away. He didn't really do affectionate sibling kisses.

"Why are these pancakes so special anyway? You're always talking about them." Kate asked. The Davis' loved their banana pancakes, but in all the years she had been a part of their family, Kate had never discovered why.

"Well," Ted began; "my dad used to make them for me and my sisters and now I like to make them for you guys as a way of saying no matter what bad things happen, no matter how sad you feel, or no matter how much you are all fighting with each other, you will always have banana pancakes."

"People always claim that chocolate chip pancakes are the best, but it's total nonsense." Harrison said as if it was obviously the case.

"No nutritional value whatsoever." Brooke confirmed as she shook her head, deadly serious. She knew banana pancakes were really no better, but she liked to trick herself into thinking otherwise.

"You guys are like wild animals when it comes to these pancakes." Kate said with a laugh as she watched them devour them in front of her.

"It's the opportunity to _bond _over pancakes that makes us _so_ happy." Matty said semi-sarcastically. He did love the way his family came together over something as simple as pancakes, but he would never admit that.

Ted smiled at his kids all sitting in a line together, chatting and nibbling away. It just felt so, very right.

"I better get going, I have a plane to catch." Ted said as he took one last bite of pancake.

"Heading to New York?" Harrison asked.

"Yeah, it's my last day of handing over all the research information to the new guy. Wish me luck" Ted said with a little laugh as he lifted his brief case and his coat. Ted turned to Matty who had never really been an emotional soul.

"Why do you look sad?" Matty asked as he scrunched up his nose.

"I don't know I just – I hate saying goodbye to you. I feel like I do it too often" Ted said as he rested his hand on Matty's shoulder.

"… I'm not moving to Raleigh if that's what this guilt trip is about." Matty made clear. He was a New York kid through and through.

Ted chuckled, "I would never expect you to leave your beloved New York, but then again, Brookie did"

"Brookie will come running back one day, mark my words…" Matty commented as Brooke rolled her eyes. She reckoned she was pretty settled in Raleigh for now.

"I'll not embarrass you with a kiss, kid" Ted said as Matty stood from his chair with a laugh.

"I'll take a hug though?" Matty said as Ted smiled in a surprised manner as he hugged his son. "Have a safe trip dad, I love you."

"Love you too. _Behave -_ don't let the pranking league get out of hand." Ted warned.

"He's got nothing on me dad, don't worry." Harrison said as he briefly hugged his father. When Harrison was a teenager, he and his friends started a pranking league than ran all through summer. Somehow, Harrison always ended up as King of the Pranks—but now, Matty was giving him a run for his money. Ted felt he had to give Matty a special warning as one year, Harrison tied one of his friends to the gate around the Statue of Liberty - butt naked - and left him there over night. Ted was determined that Matty wouldn't take it that far. The worst that had happened over the years was Matty dropping a water balloon on Nana Davis' head one Christmas.

"Yeah we'll see about that." Matty said shoving Harrison slightly.

Ted turned to Brooke who had a little smile on her face; "well you might just be the prettiest girl I've ever seen." he said as she laughed.

"It's all you." she joked, despite knowing how much she resembled Victoria. "Bye daddy" she said giving him a hug. "I love you"

"I love you too honey."

"Why does this feel like a last goodbye?" Kate joked awkwardly as they walked away from the other three for a more private goodbye. They never got this emotional about things. Maybe it was because he had all three of his kids there at the same time, which was a rare occurrence.

"I'll be back before you know it. Then I am taking you on a romantic weekend away..." she said holding her closer.

"Oh really? That sounds amazing..."

"You bet it does" he said giving her a kiss.

They were interrupted by Matty's voice shouting across the room; "whatever inappropriate behaviour that is going on over there can stop now!" he said.

Kate and Ted chuckled as they broke apart." You better get going or you're going to miss your flight."

"Ok. I love you all." He said as he walked towards the door. He He turned around before he opened the door and took one last look at his family. It really did feel like the last goodbye; "bye" he simply said as he closed the door and left them in an eerie silence.

"Well that was weirdly emotional." Brooke commented. "And we're out of pancakes."

"Your dad is always prepared for these moments, there's more batter in the fridge." Kate said as Matty immediately jumped up to make them.

"You ok Kate?" Brooke asked as she saw she looked a little down.

"Yeah... everything's always ok when there's banana pancakes."

* * *

After finishing her pancakes, Brooke went home to get Julian before they went to the hospital. He looked just as confused as he had when Brooke left about an hour ago, but he knew better than to question the intricate and dysfunctional workings of the Davis clan. If Brooke felt she needed to be there, then she needed to be there. Little did Brooke know, Julian was also on edge about a big question he was preparing to ask her. He had a plan, but knowing him it would probably fall apart at the last hurdle. He was miserable at keeping things quiet, but he knew he only had to go a little while and hope Brooke didn't get too suspicious.

As they walked towards the entrance of the hospital a short while later, Brooke could tell that something was off with Julian. He was fidgety and nervous and not saying much.

"Are you ok?" she asked as she looked at him with furrowed eyebrows.

"What? Yeah... yeah I'm ok." He said with an awkward nod, continually looking at his feet.

"You look like you've just seen a ghost" she said with a laugh.

"I uh... I just have some big surgeries today. That's all" he lied.

"Oh, ok." She replied, not sure if she bought his excuse.

They made their way into the surgical lobby where Haley and Nathan were standing. As soon as Haley saw them, she rushed over.

"Congratulations!" Haley exclaimed as Julian's eyes widened as if to tell her no, _stop._

Brooke laughed "Congratulations for what?" she asked.

It clicked with Haley that Julian hadn't actually proposed yet and she quickly quietened down. "Oh um… congratulations to… _Julian_! For his surgical streak this week… Nathan told me about it, isn't that right Nathan?" she said nudging him in the stomach to stop his silent laughter.

Nathan cleared with throat "Uh yeah. Really good work Julian."

Brooke looked at them all as if they were a little crazy. "Ok... well I better go. I will see you guys later"

When Brooke was out of sight Julian quickly turned to Haley. "What was that?!"

"I'm sorry!" she whined as Nathan laughed. "I thought you would have asked..."

"How did you even_ know_?" Julian asked. He hadn't told anybody other than Ted about his plans.

"Well everyone knew you wanted to speak with Ted about something, so it didn't take a _genius_ to work it out..." Haley reasoned.

"So you're really going to do it? You're really going to propose?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah... yeah I am. I hope you're guys are cool with it" Julian said. Nathan was like family to Brooke and Haley was quickly becoming family too. He knew it meant a lot to her that her friends liked and approved of him.

"Yeah we're cool with it. You're a good guy Julian and she deserves someone who treats her the way you do." Nathan replied shaking Julian's hand.

Rachel cleared her throat as she approached the group "And as her very best friend, I too, give you my blessing" she said in a joking manner.

"Thank you, Gatina, that really means the _world"_ He replied back sarcastically.

"It better, because there are so many people around here that would beat your ass if you messed up. Me the worst." Rachel warned. She was already having to restrain herself from beating Lucas' ass.

Despite Rachel voicing her approval, she couldn't help but feel a little uneasy about the whole thing. She just had a feeling that this relationship just wasn't right for Brooke. She knew it seemed ridiculous – Julian was so good to her – but there was a spark missing from behind Brooke's eyes. A spark she hadn't seen since Lucas.

"I don't doubt that for a second." Julian said with a laugh, breaking Rachel out of her unease. She didn't know what would happen, but she had to trust that Brooke would make the right choice for herself.

* * *

While the others had been talking to Julian, Brooke walked towards the resident's lounge with a spring in her step. She put it down to the banana pancakes – they always made her day better. As she turned a corner, she almost ran straight into none other than Karen Scott. Brooke hadn't seen her since their first meeting, so to say this was a little awkward was an understatement.

"Brooke… it's nice to see you" Karen said politely as Brooke gave her a tight-lipped smile.

"You too Dr. Scott" she replied, unsure what else to really say to the woman. She was looking at her the way everybody looked at her when things first ended with Lucas. She was looking at her with a whole lot of pity and she hated it. She was desperate to get her to look at her in any other way.

"Uh – how long are you visiting for?" Brooke asked, opting for a little bit of small talk.

"Just a few days. Convenient timing though, I just got a page down to the ER. A man came in – his wife just cut off his penis with a butcher's knife after she found him cheating on her." Karen said as Brooke's eyes widened.

"Oh my god, that's… _horrible_." Brooke said, not really sure how to react.

"Horrible, yes… excellent for you because I need someone in the surgery with me. What do you say Dr. Davis? Could you help me reattach this man's penis?" Karen asked as Brooke looked at her surprised.

"You're—you're not just giving this to me because you feel sorry for me right? Cause honestly, it's in the past, Lucas and I are fine—" Brooke rambled, not wanting to be pitied by anyone, especially by Karen.

"No, Brooke, I'm asking you because I know talent when I see it, I don't really do pity, it's a waste of time." Karen said as Brooke smiled, thankful that at least one person wasn't looking at her like she was broken. "Come on, let's go."

* * *

After the surgery, Brooke walked through the hospital with an even bigger spring in her step. She knew those banana pancakes were a good idea. The surgery had gone well thanks to Karen and she even complimented Brooke's work. She was quite simply on cloud nine. As she walked through the hallway, she accidentally bumped into Lucas.

"Oh, hi, sorry" she happily apologised as Lucas eyed her curiously.

"You ok?" he asked with a little chuckle, surprised to see her in such a good mood.

"Yeah, I'm—I'm actually _awesome_. I'm on a little bit a high and I don't really know why. Probably because I had banana pancakes this morning, they set me up for a good day." She said with a smile.

Lucas knew how obsessed the Davis' were with their banana pancakes, so it certainly explained her good mood.

"You do love your banana pancakes" he said in agreement.

"And your mother complimented my work. She said it was _above average_." Brooke told him proudly.

Lucas laughed; "that's about the highest compliment she can give"

"_I know_!" Brooke said giddily; "Best day_ ever_!" she admired Karen a whole lot, so to be complimented by her went a long way.

"I'm glad you're happy." Lucas told her sincerely.

"Me too." She replied. Brooke looked as Lucas as he smiled at her. She had enjoyed actually being pleasant with him for the past little while. She actually felt like she could consider him a friend. "You know- we were friends before everything that happened." She said, recalling his own words to her.

Lucas nodded; "Yeah. We were."

"I don't see why we couldn't get that place again. Starting now." She told him.

Lucas chuckled; "Wow, those pancakes have done you good, you've finally given in _friend_. Next thing we know you'll be joining me in plastics." He teased as he nudged her.

"We'll see…" she replied. As she was about to leave, there was a scream coming from a patient's room. She and Lucas ran in to find it was Karen and Brooke's penis patient.

"_She cut it off! My girlfriend she cut it off!"_ he exclaimed.

"Not your wife?!"

"_NO! MY GIRLFRIEND!"_ he screamed as the blood poured out over the bed.

"Oh my _god"_ Brooke grumbled as she ran out the door and after the girlfriend. "Come back with that penis!" she shouted as Lucas tried to stop the bleeding, while being slightly amused by Brooke's determination to get that penis back.

Eventually, Brooke had chased her into the bathroom and stopped her from flushing it down the toilet—she was the talk of the entire hospital afterwards. She had saved a man's penis_ twice._

_"You are a warrior Brooke. A woman of determination and skill. You saw our work take by the hands of a thief and ran to retrieve it. You charged forward, you conquered, you were victorious! This man can live to pee again." _Karen dramatically complimented as she watched Brooke irrigate the penis so they could reattach it again. When she heard what Brooke did, she wasn't the least bit surprised. She knew she was a strong woman and would fight tooth and nail for her patients. She was the sort of doctor Karen was desperate to see in the world.

"Thank you…" Brooke said cautiously, not expecting such fervour Karen regarding her work.

"You are exactly the kind of surgeon I need in Boston. Bold, fearless, and when you're looking at specialities, I hope that you will consider a urology fellowship with me."

Brooke's eyes widened; "Wow, that's—that's wow."

"You deserve it Brooke and you really should give yourself more credit for your abilities. You finish up here and I'll go check on our patient in pre-op." Karen said as she left the room and ran straight into Lucas.

"Hey, I can't believe Brooke went charging into a bathroom after a penis—that sounds weird when I say it out loud." Lucas said, squirming a little.

"That girl is passionate to her _core_. I hope you don't regret letting her slip away." Karen said quietly to her son as she walked on.

Lucas watched Brooke through the window as she worked on the penis. Like he had what ifs with Peyton, he also had what ifs with Brooke too. He quickly shook those thoughts from his head. He couldn't have those thoughts, it wasn't fair to anybody. He felt like such a fool for his confusion. He kept trying to remind himself that nobody was perfect and people made mistakes - but he couldn't help but feel like nobody would be stupid enough to let Brooke Davis slip away from them. He knew Peyton felt his confusion too. They were together, but _barely._ It was difficult to call what they had a loving relationship. Lucas made a choice in the heat of the moment - a choice that was really taken away from him when Brooke left - but he didn't really think it through. He let lack of closure take over and now he was in a position he wasn't sure he could ever come back from. He dipped his head and walked away, wondering if even a friendship with Brooke really was possible, especially when he felt the way he did. He figured the only thing he could do was keep trying with Peyton. Maybe something will change, but who was he to determine what his future held. Plans have a funny way of biting people in the ass after all.

* * *

That night, Brooke walked out of the hospital and straight over to Julian, excited to tell him about her day.

"Hey, I had the most _amazing_ day—" she began, but Julian cut her off.

"Can I talk?" he asked as Brooke's smile fell and she nodded, a little disappointed that he cut her off like that, but also curious as to where this was going.

"I had this big elaborate plan in my head but we just haven't had the time to do it so I just want to do it now, here is perfect, here is where it was meant to happen—" he said with a smile. He'd been thinking about it all day and when he'd heard what Brooke did today, he wanted to make the day just that little bit more special.

Brooke furrowed her eyebrows in complete confusion; "Julian, what are you—"

Julian grabbed Brooke's hands and looked at her; "You once told me how you sometimes have zero faith in love and all that comes with it, but I have _complete_ faith in _our_ love and all that comes with it. I knew from the moment that I kissed you at Tric, that you were it for me. I love you, _so_ much, more than I ever thought possible and I would like you to do me the honour… of becoming my wife."

Brooke's eyes widened, and her face fell as Julian got down on one knee and lifted out a ring. She felt frozen in time. He had confidence in their love? She hadn't even told him she loved him! How could he be asking her to marry him? She really felt that they weren't on the same page right now, she had no clue what to do and all she could mutter was:

"Oh my god—"

"Brooke Penelope Davis. Will you marry me?"

Brooke gulped. Was this_ really_ happening? It certainly didn't feel real. She felt like she was in a bubble. Before she could even think about answering, a seriously distressed Harrison rushed over, not even caring, or noticing, that he had just interrupted a proposal.

"Brooke, we gotta go, _now_!" he exclaimed as a confused Brooke took off running after him.

* * *

**What's happened?! Let me know your guesses in the reviews...**


	16. Death's Sting

**You guys were pretty frustrated last chapter lol... I've made a little note at the end addressing some of things you were frustrated with, so check that out at the end. **

**This chapter is pretty sad, and it's a long one, but there are some 'good' things about it to. I did some last minute editing of it cause I wanted to shift timings and stuff around - so I apologise if there are any slip ups, if I missed something I needed to change or if you're confused about anything - just let me know in the reviews and I'll fix it ASAP!**

**Also... I_ really_ think Wednesday's chapter is going to be your favourite so far...**

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen – Death's Sting**

Brooke and Harrison ran through the Raleigh South Hospital in what felt like slow motion. They had barely registered what had happened, just that Ted was here and he... he wasn't in good shape. They soon found Ted's room and hesitated about going in. They looked into the ICU room which already had Kate and Matty sitting in it in silence. Brooke and Harrison just stood at the door in complete shock at the sight of Ted, lying on the bed covered in cuts and bruises and on a ventilator.

"What happened?" Harrison asked in a whisper, knowing that Brooke was too afraid to ask.

"His car was hit by a truck" Matty said in a shaky voice. Matty looked at Kate to see if she wanted to add anything, but she was just staring into space, like there were no thoughts or emotions going on inside her head. Matty looked down at the ground. He didn't want to be the one to say this. He didn't want to have this in his hands, he should never have had to tell his siblings that their dad was brain dead.

"He uh..." Matty said as he cleared his throat. "He had a pretty bad head injury and... they didn't treat it on time. He's brain dead."

Harrison just stood in the doorway, fists clenched and jaw tight. This never would have happened at Raleigh Med. He should be _alive_ right now, but _shoddy_ work led to his death. The surgeon was lying in bed, surrounded by surgeons, and there was nothing any of them could do to help him.

"This is a dream" Brooke whispered with a vacant expression on her face; "this has _got_ to be a dream." She repeated. It felt like some sort of sick joke that she would lose two of the most important people in her life in car accidents.

"He... he's gone Brooke" Matty said to her, hating having to be the strong one right now. He felt like a little kid and it just didn't seem fair.

"Matty he's not gone, I can't believe that he's gone, I _don't _believe that he's gone!" Brooke exclaimed, the tears beginning to stream down her face.

"They're waiting for our permission to withdraw care-" he said, ignoring Brooke's pleads.

"You can't withdraw care on someone who is clearly alive!" She said walking over to the monitors. "Look at these stats, this room has three doctors in it, it is virtually_ impossible_ that he should be dying right now! We should have so much time left we-" she shouted as she started to audibly sob.

"Brooke..." Harrison said reached forward to hold her. She kept pushing him away, but he kept reaching and eventually she stopped fighting and allowed herself to cry in her brother's arms.

He was gone. Ted Davis was really gone.

* * *

After Brooke had calmed down, Kate sat in the room with Ted while Harrison, Brooke and Matty all sat in the corridor in a painful silence. They all sat low in their chairs, not saying anything, not knowing _what_ to say. None of this seemed real, none of this seemed possible.

"When I was 5 years old, I remember dad sitting with me one night telling me a bedtime story." Brooke began quietly; "I had my favourite pink and blue striped pyjamas on, and my hair was in this French braid that I insisted mom did for me because all the other girls in kindergarten had them. The story that he told—I never really understood what he was talking about until much later in life but uh, he said, "Brooke, you're going to have people in your life that are like the stars in the sky and you're going to admire them and want to be like them, but you need to remember that you are the sun, an even bigger source of light in these people's lives and you can do anything that you want and be whatever you want. You are the sun. You are your_ own_ sun." He thought the _world _of us. His kids. Although, he would have called himself a star, to me he was the sun. He made _everything_ ok and everything _better _and not just because he was a doctor, but because he was a loving and caring father to us. He was our sun. I wish I had have told him how much he meant to me more often."

"I really did not have the easiest of relationships with dad." Harrison said, taking his turn to share with his brother and sister. "It didn't take much for us to fall out and I found it far too easy to just hate him and run away. I'm sure you could both recall the punching incident of the divorce…" he said as they lightly sniggered. Harrison had really lost his head when Ted took off to Raleigh and ended up punching him in the face the next time he saw him. "Yet even through me pushing him away, even through me letting him know just how much I despised him—he _never _pushed me away. He kept pulling and eventually the pulling worked. I stopped fighting him and I learnt to love him and look up to him again like I did when I was a kid. We were really lucky to have him and at times I don't think I really deserved him. He was the greatest man I knew."

Brooke linked arms with her eldest brother as a way of sympathising with him. A way of sharing the pain.

"I know my upbringing wasn't conventional" Matty began. He wasn't one to really share his feelings, but he had to say this, and who better to say it to than his brother and sister? "Anyone looking in would think that I didn't have the life that I deserved, but I did. I had it and more. There wasn't a moment in my life when I ever felt unloved or neglected by my father. Even when I wasn't with him, I felt like he was just around the corner and if I did need him, he was always available. As frustrating a boy I can be sometimes, he always brought me around and made me realise that I didn't need attention because I already had it. He really was like a best friend to us. We could always rely on him and I looked up to him and respected him and loved him like no other man I have ever known."

They all looked at each other with squeezing their hands together in one big mound. It was special that they could share their feelings like this and they were eternally grateful that they had each other.

A few moments later, Kate, Harrison, Brooke and Matty all gathered in Ted's room as his ventilator was switched off.

"You can let go now daddy. We'll be ok." Brooke had said to him as he breathed his last breath.

Ted Davis died in the early hours of the next morning, surrounded by his three children and the love of his life. They each said goodbye and gave him a kiss and watched him as he breathed his final breath. The pain in their hearts was so real and fresh and felt like it would never go away. Right now, they needed time to grieve and time to remember the great man that was Ted Davis.

* * *

Brooke walked into the hospital like a ghost the following morning. She wasn't really sure what she was doing here. She was in no state to work. But her people were here. The ones she loved most in the world were here and she needed them right now.

She walked through the surgical wing and spotted Lucas working on one of the tablets at the nurse's station and froze. She knew she had no right to feel this way, but all she wanted was to hug _him_. He always made her feel safe even when he gave her no reason to. Eventually Lucas looked up and did a double take when he saw Brooke standing there looking completely exhausted. Her eyes were blood shot and she looked like her legs were about to give way. They watched each other for a brief moment, before Brooke burst into tears and in a split-second Lucas was by her side, holding her close, stopping her from falling over, desperately trying to sooth her and calm her down.

A short while later Rachel and Nathan burst into one of the on-call rooms and found Brooke fast asleep with her head in Lucas's lap. They couldn't believe it when they heard what happened. Their hearts _broke_ for their best friend. They shared a sympathetic look with Lucas as they bent to their knees and sat on the ground by the bed, both resting their hands on top of Brooke's. Brooke's people were here, and they weren't going anywhere.

* * *

Three weeks had passed since Ted's death and the Davis' were in disarray. Kate had taken off without a word of goodbye, Harrison had tried to get back in the OR as a distraction, though he had started to take over Ted's cases until they found a replacement for him, so he was struggling more than he was willing to admit. Brooke was avoiding everyone and everything and Matty had gone back to New York to be with Victoria—and was proving to be unreachable by his siblings.

After Rachel and Nathan had gone off to work, Brooke sat on the bench that rested at the front of her house under a cherry blossom tree. She remembered her grandmother planting the tree when she was around 5 years old. All of a sudden Brooke felt _old_ sitting under the fully grown tree. She wrapped her scarf a little tighter around her as she saw a car drive pull into the drive and soon realised it was Harrison, who got out and stood in front of her with his hands in his pockets.

"I really love this house" Brooke said as Harrison just stood silently. We had a lot of happy memories here when we visited grandma and grandpa… and when I moved here to start my residency, it was the only place that made me feel at home."

Harrison sat beside her with a sigh, "Made you feel like your family was here, huh?" he asked as Brooke nodded.

"I don't know why considering it was just me, Rachel and Nathan - but it did... and they quickly became family anyway." Brooke replied. "Dad died, Harry. Dad died and Kate ran without a word, Matty is untouchable and—I can't go back to my job. Julian proposed to me that night and I haven't said a _word_ to him, other than thank you when he said he was sorry. I've spoken to _Lucas_ more than to someone who wants to marry me and how messed up is that?" Lucas had called by the house every day to check in, but it was as if Julian was afraid to talk to her.

"No one is expecting us to be ok Brooke. We do this in our own time." Harrison replied, not sure what to really say to her.

"How did you go back to work so quickly?" Brooke asked. Harrison had gone back a week after Ted had died. She didn't understand it, she didn't understand how he coped with being there.

"I was in the garage at dad and Kate's house one night and I took a sledge hammer and I smashed the wall with it." he told her with a little laugh, realising how ridiculous his sudden outburst must have sounded; "then I had flash backs to when I used my anger to make me feel better, like when I punched dad after the divorce, and then I remembered that it didn't make anything better. So I put the hammer down and went inside and opened one of dad's medical files and saw that it was the starting work for his New York project." he told her. He sighed as he looked at his pained sister; "He left all this work unfinished Brooke and I needed a way to keep him alive... so this has to be finished. _Dad's legacy needs to be finished__."_ he said as he put his arm around her.

"I need to be ok Harry. Before I can even think about continuing what dad started. Dad went to New York to start something great… and he died as a punishment." she said with a scoff, not understanding what kind of cruel fate this was. He was back in Raleigh, driving home after choosing his family and this happened. It seemed _ridiculous, _but it was their reality now and they had to find a way to deal with it.

* * *

Brooke sat in the resident's lounge that afternoon in a comfortable silence. Anyone would think she was crazy from coming into a hospital just to sit down, but she found some sort of solace from being here. Like it was her safe haven. So even though she wasn't working, she wanted to just sit here for a moment of respite. Lucas soon walked past the door and spotted her. He quietly walked in and gave her a questioning look.

"What are you doing here?" He asked he put his hands in his pockets. To say he had been worried about her for the past few weeks would have been an understatement.

"Don't worry, I'm not working. Just finding haven in my safe place." She told him as she twiddled her thumbs.

"The hospital is your safe place?" he asked, not understanding how it could be.

Brooke shrugged; "I practically grew up in them. It's weird I know but it's true." Since her parents spent most of their time in hospitals, she would often go and see them at work. There was something about them that she found _oddly_ comforting.

Lucas nodded as he sat down opposite her. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Right now, I'm trying not to." She replied honestly.

"That's not grieving, Brooke. You need to feel this—"

"I know" Brooke said with a gulp. "I tell people that too, but I can't take my own advice right now. I just don't want this to be real. If it's real, it means that I have to live in a world without my dad and I don't want to live in that world. I don't want to feel that pain, I don't want to _know_ that pain."

"Allowing yourself to feel pain and allowing yourself to cry is one of the scariest things in the world, but it's also one of the bravest. You open up those wounds for a brief moment in order for yourself to start healing." Lucas encouraged.

Brooke nodded and looked at her feet, before letting out a scoff; "you know, death never used to scare me. I always just accepted it. It was a part of life. I accepted my own fate, but when it comes to the people I love? _I found death's sting_. It drenches my mind and my memories and that's just not fair." She said as she looked up and Lucas saw the tears glistening in her eyes.

Lucas moved forward and rested his hand on top of hers; "I know. Nothing's fair. Death stings. It stings right to the soul and it only stings because what has now been replaced with grief, was once love and it was felt so strongly. Ted wouldn't want this. He wouldn't want you to become a shadow of yourself, he would want you to go and live your life fully. Be the best doctor, the best sister, the best daughter, the best friend you could be. This isn't something you have to do alone Brooke. You have so many people around you who love you. Let us feel it with you."

"Dad always said that it wasn't love if it didn't feel like it was going to destroy you. I guess he was right." Brooke said, finally understanding what Ted meant. She looked at Lucas for a moment before wiping away her tears and leaning back in her chair. "Where's Peyton?" she asked, not having seen the doctor around the hospital in a while.

Lucas shifted awkwardly in his seat. "She uh—she left" he told her.

Brooke raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean left?" she asked.

"She said all the grief in the air was making her feel a little numb and she needed to feel something again so she went out to Africa to work and provide medical aid." Lucas told her. While he was proud of Peyton for doing such a thing, he wasn't so happy to see her running away when a lot of people in her life were upset. It felt selfish to him. He told her that while she was away, they needed to take some time apart. He wasn't prepared to be with somebody who couldn't even stick around when everybody was in a lot of pain.

"Seriously?" Brooke asked.

"Yeah. She made her choice. I'm making mine." Lucas said cryptically as they both looked each other dead in the eye.

Their intense moment was broken when Julian walked into the room and Brooke jumped from her seat like she had just been burnt.

"Hey" Brooke said.

"Hey…" Julian replied quietly.

Lucas stood up; "I'll uh… leave you guys to it" he said before leaving.

Brooke felt a little guilty seeing Julian standing in front of her. She'd barely spoken to him in the past few weeks and she wasn't even sure herself why she hadn't.

"Julian—" she began to apologise, but he cut her off.

"I know you haven't wanted to talk to me for the past little while and that's ok, but uh, just let me say this. Please don't try and push me away. I love you and I can't begin to understand what you're going through but right now, let me just be here. Let me hold you, let me love you. You can say nothing, you can scream, you can cry but—I'm not going anywhere."

Brooke merely nodded and allowed Julian to hug her.

* * *

Around a month after Ted's death, Brooke had finally made it back into her scrubs. It was an oddly comforting moment for her, and it didn't take her long to get back into the demanding rhythm of being a surgeon. She continued to thrive in her residency, though there was definitely an edge to her. Everyone had noticed that when Ted died, a little spark went out in Brooke that they weren't sure was ever going to come back, but Brooke was a strong and loving girl, so no one doubted that she would be ok.

While everyone around her knew that Brooke would be ok, Brooke wasn't so sure of that fact herself. After a particularly difficult day, she lay down on a bed in the on-call room with a hand over her eyes, hoping that her impending head ache would disappear. She had been back to work for a week and her interns were calling her Satan due to her harsh demeanour and recent abruptness. She feared that it would all be too much too fast, but she also knew it was never going to easy. She just had to keep her head held high and take each day as it came.

The door opened, and Julian appeared. He frowned when he saw Brooke's still state.

"Hi" he greeted.

"Hi." Brooke replied quickly and bluntly.

"You sound mad—"

"I am mad." She confirmed.

"What happened?" he asked as he stood beside the bed.

Brooke dropped her hand with a sigh and stared up at the ceiling; "One of my residents called me Satan today because she was being rude about me behind my back and I called her out on it."

"Alex?" Julian asked.

Brooke glared; "You're on first name basis with Dr. Dupre now?"

"Brooke—"

Brooke sat up on the bed; "the way she talks about the doctors around here who stand in her way is unbelievable"

"In her way of what?" Julian asked, not understanding what Brooke meant.

Brooke looked at her feet; _"you_ for starters" The interns had naturally taken an interest in many of the surgeons at Raleigh Med. They were an alarmingly attractive bunch.

"Well she can't have me, but you need to look past that and towards her skills as a doctor. She's not going to learn if you put her on wart duty all day or try and get her kicked off somebody's service." Julian advised.

Brooke stood up and crossed her arms as she stood opposite Julian; "If you can give me one shred of evidence that she is any better than the rest of the interns or should more than anyone be in this programme then I won't make assumptions about her ability and I won't hinder her learning." Julian remained silent, not wanting to fight with Brooke over this. "Thought so."

"You _have_ to teach them Brooke, this is teaching hospital. That's the only way they're going to learn to be a step above the rest, by learning from someone who already is. We can't just abandon them because we don't like them. I'm sure there were plenty of attendings who weren't too fond of you as an intern." Julian argued.

"Yeah, everyone really hated the chief's daughter…" she mumbled arrogantly. "and I have enough on my plate to teach basic professional manners to a resident. Why do you care so much anyway?" Brooke asked, wondering why he was getting so defensive over one resident that he barely even knew.

"I care about the future of medicine Brooke and so should you!"

"I have been working my_ ass_ off for the past 10 years so I can make a difference in people's lives. You think that's me not caring about the future of medicine?" Brooke questioned.

"The doctors we are teaching will be developing things that we won't have the opportunity to do—"

"And I don't think Dupre is going to be one of those people, what is so wrong with holding an opinion like that?"

"Nothing, but you're just holding a personal grudge rather than one that is based on her ability. So, what, she calls you Satan? You have been a little devilish recently—" Julian snapped as Brooke's breath caught in her throat. Why would he say that? Why didn't he understand the pain she was in?

Brooke gulped; "She called me Satan the day I came back to work after my dad died and has continued to do so all week. I'm a little but on edge because his death—_destroyed me._ I shouldn't have to apologise for not being all sweetness and light, I have _every_ right to feel this way—"

"Do you think your dad would have wanted you to be this way?"

Brooke shook her head; _"Don't_ say that to me, you are_ not_ my father therefore you cannot say how he would have wanted me to be."

"Brooke I am not the enemy here—" Julian said holding up his hand, not liking the direction this way taking.

"I am trying to keep it together for everyone else and if being this way helps me, then you have to let me be this way! Kate ran away, Harry thinks he has to be in control so far so that he's not letting himself feel. I haven't spoken to Matty in a _month_ because he is untouchable. I have to be strong, I have to be defiant. I need to be the one to keep this family together."

"That doesn't mean you're not allowed to feel!"

_"I do feel!_" she shouted as the tears started the angrily stream down her face. "So much it _hurts! _I just need my work to be a place that I can continue to do what I am good at. To continue what my dad taught me. Not deal with bitchy co-workers who question my abilities and I do not need_ you_ questioning the kind of person I am. If you don't like it then you should just—" she said, put quickly cut herself off, not wanting to say anything hurtful out of anger.

"Just what, Brooke?" Julian questioned as she wiped her years. "Take back my proposal that you're just ignoring happened? The thing is Brooke—you're not the same girl that I proposed to. You were so kind and willing to help and so loving despite _everything_ that's happened in your life. This isn't you." He said as he shook his head.

"I don't know what you want me to do Julian" she said quietly, feeling entirely drained and defeated.

"For starters you can stop running to Lucas instead of me." He snipped. Over the past few months, he had felt second best to her ex—and he wasn't about to stand for it anymore.

"This is about Lucas now?"

"I don't get it Brooke, he left you, very publicly, yet you still run to him for comfort."

"I don't _run_ to him Julian. He's my friend, he's been kind to me, he hasn't just been sitting around waiting for me to finish grieving, so I can answer his proposal." She snipped.

Julian raised his eyebrows; "You think that's what I've been doing?"

"I don't know what you've been doing Julian. Though by the sound of things you've been sitting around wondering why I'm such a bitch and being jealous of Lucas." To Brooke, it just seemed that Julian was itching for an answer. She felt bad that she hadn't just been straight with him. She felt so unbelievably rushed the moment he asked her and she instantly knew that her heart wasn't in it. She couldn't understanding how he could propose to her when she hadn't even told him she loved him. But telling him that had been the last thing on her mind right now. She was just trying to get through the day.

"I'm not going to do this. You clearly don't want to marry me Brooke, all you had to do was say so"

"No" Brooke said honestly. "I don't want to marry you. I just—I need to be on my own. I need to work this out by myself." She confessed.

Julian nodded; "Ok." He replied, finally admitting defeat. "I uh—I have a job offer in Boston and I think I'm going to take it."

Brooke's face fell; "what?"

"There's nothing here for me anymore Brooke. I_ can't_ be here." He admitted. He couldn't be around her when he knew she didn't want him. When he knew deep down that her feelings for Lucas were still very much there.

"Julian, I—I'm sorry." Brooke said in a whisper, not knowing what else she could do to make this better.

"Me too. Goodbye Brooke." He said before opening the door and walking out of Brooke Davis' life.

Brooke gulped, trying to contain her emotions over everything. She was a little ashamed to admit it - but she felt relieved. She felt like she was free and she could move on to what was right for her. She did understand, however, how Julian felt about not wanting to be here. She loved this place, but she was beginning to feel suffocated and she didn't want that.

She left the on call room in search of the one person she thought might be able to give her the space she needed.

"Dr. Scott" she asked when she found Karen working in one of the conference rooms.

"Brooke" Karen said, surprised to see her as she stood from her desk and walked over to her. "I -" she began but Brooke cut her off.

"We don't need to do the pleasantries, I'm sorry for your loss etc. it's fine." Brooke insisted as Karen nodded her head. She completely understood that Brooke maybe just wanted to be treated normally for a change.

"What can I help you with Dr. Davis?"

"Take me back to Boston with you." Brooke said as Karen raised an eyebrow. "Lucas told me you're leaving tomorrow and I was thinking about your offer of a urology fellowship and - I don't want that, but I would really like to work under you for just a few months." Brooke told her. "I need to get away, I need a fresh place and it's not permanent but it is needed."

Karen nodded her head and the arrangement was made - the following morning, Brooke left with Karen to Boston. She'd said goodbye to Harrison, who was planning on going back to New York now that Brooke was leaving too, and also to Rachel, Nathan and Haley who were so sad to see her go. The one person, however, she didn't say goodbye to was Lucas. She wanted to see - so badly - but she just couldn't. She couldn't leave him behind when he had been such a support to her, but she needed to do this on her own. She needed to find her own inner strength and she couldn't rely on him. So she said nothing. She left him behind her - and that was that.

* * *

**** 3 months later ****

It was Monday morning, and Brooke stood in front of the door to Raleigh Med, willing herself to go in. She had arrived back in Raleigh on Saturday and was looking forward to finishing off her residency here, but she was nervous. It felt like a lifetime since she had been here and she wasn't sure what awaited her through the doors. She'd had a really good time in Boston. It was a welcomed break, but she was scared about dealing with her problems that she'd left behind. She hoped that because she was in a better place, they maybe wouldn't be as scary as she was expecting.

"Davis, have you forgotten how a door works?"

Brooke gulped as her breath caught in her throat. She claimed she was scared of dealing with her problems, but really - she was scared about seeing him again. They'd exchanged a few messages over the past 3 months, but nothing extensive. He just liked to check in on her and make sure she knew he would always be there for her. As much as she wanted to take him up on that, she knew it was best to just keep her distance. He had become one of her best friends before she left, and her feelings were bubbling before she was ready to accept them.

Brooke realised she'd been silent for too long and let out a breath before replying, "No, but apparently I've forgotten how to walk forward…" she grumbled before turning around to see Lucas smiling at her. Man he still looked insanely good. "Hi Luke" she greeted quietly as she walked forward and hugged him, getting completely lost in his touch.

"Hi pretty girl" he said quietly so only she could hear. "How you doing?"

"I'm ok... glad to be back." she said as she reluctantly pulled away from him. "It's a little weird though. A lot has changed." she said as she folded her arms over her chest.

"Maybe... but I don't doubt that you're still the strong, amazing girl that left Raleigh behind." Lucas told her confidently. "You've got this Brooke."

Brooke gave him a tight-lipped smile, "Thanks... so, what's new with you? Has your Peyton break become permanent yet?" After she had left, Lucas called her and told her they needed to take a break from each other - which was obviously helped by the distance. Peyton wasn't so keen on making it permanent, but Lucas was. He knew what he wanted and he was ready to make the step forward to get it. Brooke had her space, he'd had his space and he was ready and waiting for her when she was ready to come to him. He just wasn't sure if Peyton would so easily let him slip away.

"I think so" He confirmed. "We haven't had that definitive ending talk but she's due back tomorrow, so I guess we'll be having it then." He informed her. He knew it wouldn't be easy, but it had to be done and he knew she would be thankful for it in the long run.

Brooke nodded her head at Lucas' answer, not really knowing what to say. She knew that Lucas' indifference to his relationship had only grown over time. What she didn't know however was how he truly felt about _her_. He was thrilled to be her friend and he was respectful as she grieved, but his feelings only grew by the day and it was starting to break his heart a little. Even when she was gone for the past three months, his thoughts were_ consumed_ by her. But sometimes, he felt like he couldn't have her even though she was standing right in front of him. There just seemed to be too much to work through, though a part his heart was just screaming at him to take the chance - because it would be entirely worth it.

"My mom and Keith are renewing their vows this weekend, are you coming?" Lucas asked her, hoping that she would be. Any party with Brooke Davis in attendance was sure to be a good one. Karen and Keith had been married for 20 years and Karen wanted to do something special to celebrate. "Don't ask me why she wanted to renew the vows in Raleigh. Apparently it would be impossible for me to travel to Boston with _6 months notice_…" he said with an eye roll as Brooke chuckled.

"Aw, she's just trying to make things convenient for her hot-shot surgeon son" Brooke teased. Karen had told her all about the renewal in Boston. She'd even asked for Brooke's help organising a few things. "Besides, she told me you are her man of honour – you're in charge of driving the get away car if she needs to make a run for it, it's best you have your own car, just so you're _super_ prepared." She teased.

"You are twisted Davis" Lucas joked.

Brooke shrugged and smirked devilishly. If she ever got married, the only person she'd ever trust to be her maid of honour was Rachel – she would _definitely_ drive the get away car. She'd drive it to the opposite end of the country if that's what it took.

Brooke's phone soon rang and she frowned when she saw it was an unknown number. She flashed it at Lucas who shrugged and motioned for her to answer it, "Hello? Oh my god… ok, thank you."

Lucas frowned, "What's wrong?"

"That was Charleston Med… Kate's been admitted." Brooke said in disbelief. She hadn't heard from Kate in the 4 months since Ted's death and it was distressing that this was the first thing she'd heard.

"Do you need me to drive you?" Lucas asked, seeing that Brooke was clearly shaken.

"No, no, I'm ok, besides – you have important man of honour duties to be getting on with" Brooke said with a giggle. "I'll call you!" she promised, knowing that Lucas would be concerned about her for the rest of the day.

Lucas smiled as he watched her dash away -_ boy_ was it good to have her back.

* * *

"_Dr. Grant? Dr. Grant?"_

Kate opened her eyes and as she came around, she saw a nurse standing beside her bed, smiling at her.

"Dr. Grant. Your daughter is here." The nurse told her.

Kate groggily frowned. Her daughter? But her daughter was – she looked over to the door and saw the last person she expected to see –_ Brooke_.

She sheepishly walked into the room and sat on the edge of Kate's bed.

"Apparently I'm your emergency contact?" Brooke questioned with a little laugh.

Kate smiled. Honestly, she wouldn't want anybody else. Brooke would always know exactly what to do and she would always be there, despite everything they had been through.

"I had a _baby"_ Kate said. She'd been 16 weeks pregnant when Ted died - and she didn't even know. Some doctor she was. She was just so consumed with work and Ted being in New York that she wasn't paying attention to any of the signs her body was sending her, and now she was here with a little baby girl.

Brooke took her turn to smile; "I know."

When Brooke had gotten a call from a hospital in Charleston about Kate, she immediately got in her car and rushed down to her. She hadn't heard from her in 4 months and now she was in a hospital? With a baby? Brooke couldn't quite believe what she was hearing. Kate and Ted had talked about having kids over the years, but it never transpired. Kate was a little bit younger than Ted, so it was more of a dream of hers than his. It seemed utterly ridiculous that she would get pregnant by accident and then Ted would be gone, leaving her a single mother.

Despite the sadness, Brooke was filled with so much joy for Kate. A baby was a gift. She had a new little sister and that was something to celebrate, as difficult as that may be. The past 4 months had been the hardest 4 months of her life – so much had happened, so many tears were shed, but she was starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. They both were starting to see it.

"Ted is dead." Kate said in a matter of fact manner, as if this was her way of finally processing it.

Brooke's face fell as she fought her tears; "… yeah. He is." Brooke said with a gulp. She had a lot of support around her while she grieved, even when she was in Boston, so she couldn't imagine how Kate could do this on her own.

"Her name is Maya. Did you see her? She's beautiful."

Brooke smiled widely and nodded. "She looks just like you."

"I didn't think I could do it. Part of me thought, what if I just have this baby and die. And then she arrived and I saw her face and I saw him in her. She's beautiful." Kate told her with a proud smile. "And I thought about how Harrison and Matty are just the spitting image of him and how you—_you're the embodiment of all the love he had in his heart_. His little Brooke. How could I die when he is _all_ around me?"

Brooke finally gave in as she let a few stray tears fall and she held onto Kate's hand. Never in a million years did she think she would be sitting by Kate's bedside, filled with such love and admiration for this woman.

"I am so glad you're ok." Brooke told her sincerely, as they continued to catch up on all they had missed.

* * *

**I told you I was a sucker for heartbreak... this obviously really changes Brooke and it makes her realise a lot of things - especially about being with the ones you love when you can because life can be taken in an instant.**

**But... Brooke also needs time to grieve. Her world was shaken and she needs her head to be clear before she can contemplate giving Lucas another chance. Life is complicated and sometimes things take a while to fall into place - we can't have everything in an instant! So be patient. It will make the goodness that much sweeter.**

**Next chapter - Karen and Keith renew their vows, Brooke and Lucas have a heart to heart and Brooke meets someone very dear to Lucas' heart... **


	17. All That's Coming

**Thank you all for your fab reviews for the last chapter! Despite it being a sad one, you guys seemed to really enjoy it. **

**So now... the countdown begins to chapter 19...**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen – All That's Coming**

A few days after visiting Kate, Brooke managed to convince her to move back to Raleigh with her. Nathan had moved in with Haley, and although she missed her former roomie (despite bothering him all day at work) she wanted to fill the space left by him, so she offered a bedroom for Kate and Ellie, which she gratefully accepted. Something didn't feel quite right about being in the house she shared with Ted without him. Kate did want to have one last hurrah in the house, however, and offered it to Karen and Keith as a mini-reception venue following their vow renewal, and they gratefully accepted. For two people who made a lot of money as surgeons, they were incredibly tight with their cash.

Meanwhile, Lucas was trying to immerse himself in his man of honour duties. Lucas' little sister Lily was acting as best woman for Keith. It seemed appropriate that they would be breaking with tradition. They were an unconventional family – Keith Scott was his uncle after all, but he and Karen swiftly fell in love following Lucas' dad's departure and nobody had looked back since.

Lucas was excited to celebrate his mother's vow renewal with the man who had been like a father to him all his life – even though his own relationship was ending. Ever since Peyton had returned from her trip, she had been avoiding Lucas. It was like she knew the conversation that was coming and she just refused to have it. He wanted a definitive ending but she just wouldn't give it to him. They weren't together, but they needed to have a closing conversation, otherwise it would make it all the more hard to move on.

"Honey, you really don't have to be here, I'm fine—" Karen insisted as Lucas lay on the sofa in his mother's hotel room watching TV while she got ready.

"Lily said the job of the man of honour is to support the bride and keep her company, so I'm keeping you company." Lucas said happily. "Brooke also said that the man of honour drives the getaway car so if you want to make a run for it, just let me know." He added with a shrug.

"Brooke huh?" Karen asked suggestively as Lucas sighed.

"Yeah let's not go there right now—"

"Is everything ok?" Karen asked, knowing that Lucas had been having a difficult time with Peyton. On the other hand, his friendship with Brooke had blossomed. Much to every one's surprise, they were incredibly close and were incredibly thankful for each other. Even when she was away she never doubted how much he cared.

"Yeah, fine." Lucas said bluntly, not wanting to get into this with Karen right now—or_ ever _if he was being completely honest.

"I know it's a challenge. The woman who left Africa is not the same girl who left here in the first place. And the woman who lost her father? She's not the same girl either." Karen said sympathetically as she left her seat and sat opposite him on the coffee table. She knew her son well, she knew that he was having conflicted feelings about the women in his life.

Lucas eyed Karen curiously. He knew she had always liked Peyton, but she _really_ liked Brooke despite their rocky start. It was rare that Karen liked _anyone_ so much.

"What are you doing?" he asked her cautiously, trying to work out what his mother was getting at.

"Just making you think a little. It's understandable that this would cause difficulties. Especially when you and Brooke have always played the role of boyfriend and girlfriend a little bit better than you and Peyton... even when you're not supposed to be." Karen observed as she went back to her table to get ready, leaving a confused Lucas behind her.

* * *

That afternoon, Brooke was waiting patiently outside of the venue for Rachel to arrive so they could sit together. She was bringing her boyfriend Johnny, but Brooke had resigned herself to the fact that she would probably be a third wheel on all of her friends for the time being. It was a relatively cold day in Raleigh and Brooke was shivering beyond belief. She swore she was going to_ kill_ Rachel for not being here at the agreed time.

"Hey pretty girl" she heard behind her as she turned around and saw Lucas standing there with an amused smirk on his face.

Brooke quirked an eyebrow, "What do you have to look so amused about?" she asked.

"You're standing there hunched over and shivering without a jacket" Lucas pointed out.

Brooke rolled her eyes, "The jacket would only ruin my outfit Scott, come on"

Lucas held up his hands, "You are totally right, I'm sorry. I wish I could say it was warmer in there, but my mom deliberately chose this place cause it's supposed to be cool and Keith is a sweater." He said with a shrug as Brooke chuckled.

"Noted…"

"Here" he said, taking off his jacket and putting it around her shoulders. "Just until whoever you're waiting for gets here. Then you can show off your outfit"

"It's not a date" she said quickly as Lucas nodded. "I am _definitely_ not ready for a date, no _way_ and I mean – it would be completely ridiculous for me to bring a date to my ex-boyfriend's mother's vow renewal." Brooke rambled awkwardly. Karen had told Lucas that he could invite whoever he wanted and they in turn could bring dates, but for Brooke to do it did seem a little strange.

Lucas chuckled, "Don't worry about it cheery, you don't have to explain anything to me" he assured her.

"What are you doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be with the bride?"

"The bride is freaking out that the venue isn't set up_ perfectly_, so she sent me here to check it out and send her photographs…" Lucas said with a tight-lipped smile.

Brooke let out a laugh and nodded her head, "Well I suppose it is the maid of honours duty to be at the beck and call of the bride"

"Apparently so… I should probably get to it, I'll talk to you later" He said as he gently touched her arm and walked into the building.

Brooke let out a breath and started impatiently tapping her foot. She put her hands into the pockets of Lucas' jacket and frowned when she felt some paper. She lifted it out and opened the folded over sheets and began reading.

* * *

10 or so minutes later, Brooke had abandoned waiting for Rachel and had gone into the venue. She wasn't quite ready to go into the main hall just yet. Instead, she found a bench in the courtyard and sat down, trying to compose herself. As she was reading earlier, she'd realised that she was reading Lucas' speech for the reception – and it was _beautiful._ He had such a way with words and Brooke couldn't help but tear up.

More than anything, it made her think of her dad. She would give anything just to say what Lucas said about his mom to _her_ dad. She would give anything for just one more moment together – and then it struck her – she could have one more moment with him in an unconventional sort of way. Brooke tossed her phone in her hands, contemplating whether to open what was on it. It had been on there for 6 months and she couldn't bring herself to do it.

She looked up when she heard some footsteps in front of her, and realised it was Lucas. "Hey" he greeted. "What are you doing out here?" he asked as he sat beside her.

"Don't be mad… but I read your speech…" she said with a grimace at her own actions.

"Brooke…"

"Don't leave your journal anywhere where I can find that either" she joked as she handed him back his jacket. "It was really beautiful Lucas. Remember tonight, for it is the beginning of always… and then the part about taking chances and believing in the possibility even when life has given you every reason not to believe." Brooke said as she looked at Lucas in wonder. She thought about all that they had been through since they first met. There was a lot of heartbreak and a lot of disappointment and pain and tragedy – but Brooke didn't regret the time she spent with him. She didn't regret taking a chance on love. If she took the time to regret it, she knew she would have lost the very essence of what made Brooke,_ Brooke._ She may have been afraid of love, she may have doubted it – but her heart had the biggest capacity for it and she just couldn't turn away when it was sitting right at her feet. Not when it could have been the greatest thing to ever happen to her.

Brooke cleared her throat and looked away from him, "I just hope someone says something that nice at my wedding."

Lucas smiled, "I think you can count on that one." He said sincerely.

"It uh – it also got me thinking about my dad. His marriage to my mother ended in complete _tatters_, yet he still loved. He loved fully and he believed in it and I wasn't always that supportive of his love for Kate…" she said with an ashamed laugh. "I would give anything just to have him here so I can say I love you and I support you."

"He knew that Brooke. He loved you so, so much, you could see it every time he looked at you." Lucas encouraged as he gently rubbed her back. "You were the best thing he ever did."

"It uh - seems that my dad was feeling a little nostalgic on the day he died." Brooke said as Lucas eyed her curiously. "He left Kate a voicemail on her phone and uh—he left me one too… and Harry, and Matty. I'm the only one who hasn't listened to theirs. It's been almost a year and I just—I didn't want to listen to it. I couldn't accept the fact that this would be the last thing I would ever hear him say." She explained. "The same thing happened to me when Aiden died. The last thing I heard him say was over a voicemail he left me. It just seems a little cruel now. Every time I see I have a voicemail I'm going to assume the worst."

"That's so hard Brooke." Lucas sympathised. "Maybe these voicemails can be some sort of comfort to you."

"Maybe… will you listen to it with me?" she asked as he nodded softly.

Brooke unlocked her phone and took a moment before allowing herself to hit play.

"_Hey Brooke, it's your dad!" _they heard Ted say cheerfully down the line. As soon as she heard his voice, her eyes filled with tears and she covered her mouth with her hand. It was like he was really there in the courtyard with them.

_"I know you're probably run off your feet with work, but I just got off the plane and it's such a beautiful day here in Raleigh. Probably one of the most beautiful I've ever seen. Anyway, it got me thinking about the day you moved to Raleigh to start your residency. It was such a miserable day outside and you were not in the best mood and I just think it's crazy how much has changed. Raleigh is well and truly our home and probably the best home we've ever had. You've done so well for yourself Brooke, I'm so proud of you. You never let the drama that comes with being a Davis effect who you really were at heart and that's so special and rare. Anyway, embarrassing dad ramble over. I can't wait to see you. I love you Brooke. Bye."_

Brooke and Lucas sat in silence for a moment as they took the message in. It was so simple and from the heart and so... _Ted. _Brooke couldn't quite believe that she was hearing her dad's voice again. It felt like he'd never really been gone for all this time.

"Are you ok?" Lucas asked as continued to rub her back.

Brooke quickly wiped away her tears as a small smile graced her face. "You know what? I think I will be." She said confidently, knowing that when she thought about her dad, she would no longer think of that damn accident—she was think of her _dad._ The warm and loving dad she treasured with_ all_ her heart. "Where's uh—where's Peyton?" Brooke asked quickly, having noticed that she hadn't seemed to arrive yet. Lucas had said she was coming, despite where they stood in their relationship.

"I don't know." Lucas answered as Brooke furrowed her eyebrows. It was an evasive answer that clearly had a story behind it.

"What happened?" she asked, but Lucas wanted to discuss something else entirely as he stood up.

"Have you noticed what we became?" He asked.

"What do you mean?"

"We talk to each other about anything and everything going on in our lives…_ we_ became the couple. Not me and Peyton, not you and Julian. You and me. You were a better girlfriend to me than Peyton has ever been." Lucas confessed, realising that Karen was right.

"Lucas—" Brooke began as she stood up to face him.

"I know it's messed up but—it's true and what's even worse is that—a part of me doesn't really regret it." he said honestly. He was done holding back anymore, he needed to say this.

Brooke gulped. She would be lying if she said his friendship hadn't meant a hell of a lot to her over the past while. "I—I understand. You've been amazing, through everything. Even when I wasn't here I felt so supported and cared for by you. I honestly don't know what I would have done without you."

"Me either."

Brooke stopped for a minute before she considered what her next words should be. She cared about him. She cared about him a lot and she knew he cared about her too. But this _couldn't_ happen.

"But... you need to figure out this Peyton stuff first. I know she's avoiding you, but you need to find a way to make her listen... otherwise you're going to make yourself miserable. We can be friends, maybe not on the same scale that we have been but uh—friends none the less." She said. She didn't know how they were going to do that—or if they _could_ do that—but she wanted to. She wanted him in her life either way.

Lucas nodded, knowing that she was right. He needed that closure with Peyton before he and Brooke could ever be something. He didn't want it to happen like that anyway. He wanted them to have the space and the assurance that this was it, the two of them, forever. But like Brooke, he valued their friendship and he didn't want to lose it.

"Absolutely." Lucas said in agreement as he pulled her in for a side hug and kissed her head.

They stayed like that for a moment before they heard the clicking of heels and Peyton appeared around the corner.

"Oh, sorry" she apologised sheepishly, not realising she was about to interrupt a pretty intimate moment on her journey over here.

Brooke immediately removed herself from Lucas' hold and stepped away from him, hating that she had to do it.

"I'll see you guys inside" Brooke said as she walked into the hall to find Rachel and Johnny.

"What was that all about?" Peyton asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"We were just talking Peyton, it was nothing you need to concern yourself with."

"It certainly didn't look like nothing" she said with scoff.

"Well, I suppose you know what nothing looks like because that's all I got from you over the course of our relationship." Lucas shot at her as Peyton's face completely fell.

"That's not fair-"

"What are you even fighting for Peyton?" Lucas asked with a gulp. "I said I would wait for you to get back so we could properly talk because I wasn't prepared to just end this without seeing you face to face – I keep trying to talk to you and you keep clinging on but for _what_?"

"Lucas" Peyton said as she stepped towards him and held his tie lightly, "What we have – it's _irreplaceable._ We've been through so much together, every path we take will lead back to each other, I just know it!" she said, but Lucas didn't reply. He didn't know what to reply. "Look, I don't think this is the time or place to be having this conversation." Peyton said, realising that she wasn't getting through to him. "After the wedding, I have to go back to Africa and tie up a few loose ends, but I will be back in two weeks so please – just _wait for me." _

"I'm done waiting Peyton!"

"Just - wait. I promise we'll talk." she pleaded, even though she knew deep down she was delaying the inevitable. Peyton didn't wait for his reply, knowing she probably wouldn't get one, so she just made her way back into the hall as the service was about to begin.

* * *

After Brooke had left Lucas and Peyton to talk, she walked through the hallway searching for a tissue in her purse. Her talk with Lucas had made her a little teary. She didn't want to let him go but she knew she had to - for now anyway. She had a funny feeling that this wasn't the end of their story, but he needed to end whatever he was doing with Peyton before they could even consider their feelings for one another. As she looked through her purse, she heard a voice in front of her ask;

"Are you Brooke?"

Brooke looked up and saw a young girl standing in front of her, around 19 or 20 years old. There was something really familiar about her, but she just couldn't quite place her pretty features.

"Yeah, I am" she confirmed.

"I'm Lily. Lucas' sister" the girl said as Brooke smiled and nodded her head, realising that she recognised Lily because her eyes were_ Lucas'_ eyes.

"I thought there was something familiar about you" Brooke joked. "It's nice to finally meet you, Lucas cannot speak more highly of you."

Lily smiled, "I could say the same thing about you" she responded, causing Brooke to look a little surprised. "He always has something to say about you when we talk."

Brooke chuckled, "Oh yeah? Remind me to tease him about that one..."

"You're like - _really_ pretty" Lily said as she took Brooke in. Lucas had said she was beautiful, but she wasn't expecting her to be that beautiful. She was almost mesmerising.

"Right back at you. Definitely the best looking Scott" Brooke said with a wink.

Lily giggled, "Remind me to tease Lucas about that one..." she said, recycling Brooke's joke from earlier. "Brooke - I know I don't really know you, but from what Lucas said - I have no idea how he ever let you go." she said in disbelief. Even in this short meeting, she was far more than Lily could have imagined. She was kind and beautiful and funny and intelligent and Lily made a mental note to _smack_ Lucas for letting her slip away from him, though she had a funny feeling that her brother already had some regrets.

"It's uh - it's complicated" Brooke said with an awkward shrug. "We're friends."

Lily smirked, "I'm not sure you guys will ever be just friends. There's too much chemistry for that... I saw you two talking in the courtyard." Lily explained as Brooke nodded. "I guess Lucas just didn't know what he wanted - typical guy..." she said with an eye roll as Brooke held back a laugh. "But I think he's seeing his future as clear as day when he looks at you." Lily made clear as Brooke remained silent, not really knowing what to say. "It was nice to meet you Brooke" she said sincerely before walking away.

* * *

The whole renewal went beautifully. No one would ever have known of the tension between Lucas, Peyton and Brooke. It was perfectly serene and sweet which was all Karen wanted. As the reception was in full swing, Brooke walked around the house in search of Kate. She eventually found her sitting in Ted's old office, rocking Ellie to sleep.

"You know, dad used to rock us to sleep in that chair" Brooke said as Kate looked up at her, a little startled. "When he and mom got a divorce, Victoria was keen on burning all of his stuff, so he made Harrison go into the house and save this chair from the slaughter." Brooke told her with a little laugh, seeing the ridiculousness in the situation. "He's had it in this office ever since."

"He would have loved rocking Ellie to sleep on it too" Kate said as she looked back down at the sleeping newborn in her arms.

Brooke smiled and knelt down beside the chair to peer in at Ellie "definitely."

"I should have called when I was away." Kate abruptly stated as Brooke looked at her.

"Kate, it's ok. Davis' have a long history of running and avoiding when things get hard." Brooke told her. It seemed fitting that Kate did it too.

Kate was surprised by their understanding, but she wasn't about to question it. "Maybe… but I do want to say, that despite everything, despite the difficulties that I know will probably keep coming—you're my family and I am _always_ here for you." She said kindly.

Brooke looked at her with gratitude evident in her eyes. She could never have imagined a point in her life where they would be so fond of Kate Grant. Despite everything, she was family, and she always would be.

"And I will always be here for you and this little lady" Brooke said as she placed a little kiss on her sister's hand. She was glad that the boys didn't out number her anymore. As difficult as the past little while had been, she really felt like this was a fresh start for them all, and all that was coming was good.

* * *

**BOY am I making Peyton super frustrating lol here's hoping Lucas will get through to her and she'll stop fighting the inevitable...**


	18. New Beginnings

**Chapter Eighteen—New Beginnings**

Two weeks later, Brooke walked into work sporting a head ache. She wasn't hung over—not even alcohol could have saved her from this situation—but living in a house with Kate, Maya and Rachel was proving to be difficult. They weren't exactly blending well together, and Brooke was the middle man between her step mother and her best friend. For starters, Maya just _wouldn't_ sleep through the night and her cries echoed through the house, keeping everyone awake to all hours of the morning. Rachel didn't help much with the noise situation either. She loved having people over at the weekends, which in turn was keeping Maya awake and causing conflict. It was uncomfortable for everyone involved and Brooke was growing tired of listening to their complaints about each other, especially when they refused to just talk it out between themselves.

As she did her rounds and then made her way up to the NICU, she saw Lucas checking over their littlest patient and sighed when she remembered what today was—today was the day Peyton was due back from Africa. She remembered Lucas telling her about their conversation at the wedding, but it hadn't been mentioned since. Since the wedding, Brooke and Lucas had managed to maintain a friendship, though the topic of Peyton was one that was rarely approached.

Lucas soon noticed Brooke had walked into the room; "His scar looks pretty nice, I'm just going to apply some more lotion here." He explained as Brooke nodded.

They stood in a momentary silence before Brooke thought she would chance her luck and see what Lucas had to say. "You know, I've been playing the role of listener for Kate and Rachel's problems the past few weeks and I think you need someone in that role right now too."

"What do you mean?" he asked as he put the lotion on the baby.

"Peyton's coming home tonight." Brooke reminded him. Lucas sighed as Brooke visibly noticed his mood change from bad to worse. "She's coming home from across the world, to what? A locked house?" She asked. When Lucas and Peyton had moved out of Brooke's, it made financial sense to just move in together, but Lucas was regretting that right about now.

"Why do you think everyone thinks they have a right to a front row seat to my relationship?" Lucas asked as he finally looked up at her, the frustration evident across his face.

"I don't know about everyone else, but since she's the person you dumped me for, I'm going to encourage you to not make it a complete nightmare for yourself, so it doesn't make me feel _worse_. Then there's the fact that you told me I was a better girlfriend to you than Peyton—" she semi-teased. She wasn't about to let him get away with being frustrated with her when she was just trying to help.

"Brooke, show's closed, I'm not selling tickets" he cut her off, just as Rachel walked around the corner.

"Dr. Scott—"

_"What_?" Lucas asked, a little more aggressively than intended.

Rachel's face fell as she glared at Lucas; "Your gastro flap harvest is ready when you are." She said just as aggressively.

"That's_ great_." He said through his teeth as he roughly set his things down and walked past the girls.

"I—Yeah." Brooke said with a sigh, not knowing how she could even try to defend Lucas to Rachel, who just rolled her eyes and followed him out of the NICU.

* * *

That evening, Brooke lay in the on-call room, avoiding going home. She knew she should probably go to try and create peace before world war three erupted, but she just needed a little bit of quiet before she went and dealt with the issue. She really wanted this living situation to work, and that meant coming up with some compromises and persuading Rachel and Kate to be a little more patient and understanding.

The door opened and Brooke opened one eye to see who had walked in. It was Lucas and he looked so defeated as he slumped over to the bed.

"Hey" he greeted as he lifted Brooke's legs and sat at the end of the bed, letting her legs fall back over his.

"You look about as happy at the thought of going home as I do." She observed before looking back up at the ceiling.

"What are you avoiding?" Lucas asked.

"A blow up between my best friend and my step mother. I would ask you the same question, but I think I already know the answer..."

Lucas shrugged; "Yeah well... I figured sleeping here would give Peyton some space in her own bed."

"So no homecoming then?"

Lucas paused for a minute, before deciding that he should just be honest with Brooke. "No. Before she left—before she left, I asked her what we were fighting for cause I really don't think there is_ anything_ to fight for. I wanted to end it properly there and then, but she wouldn't let me. She wanted me to wait these two weeks before we had the conversation."

Brooke shot up into a seated position; "What?" she asked as she crossed her legs under her.

"Peyton is quite honestly one of the most selfish people I have ever met... our relationship became all about her and i don't want that. I know I can be a bit of a jackass at times..." he self scolded as Brooke scoffed. "But I also know what I deserve."

"Lucas—"

"I also don't need a lecture from you—" he began, figuring Brooke would somehow try and stick up for Peyton because that's just the kind of person she was.

Brooke rolled her eyes; "I wasn't going to give you one, I was going to give you a bit of sympathy, but I sense you don't want that either."

"No. I just want a bit of normality. Can this friendship be my normality?" he asked.

Brooke smirked; "Dude, there is_ nothing_ normal about this friendship."

Lucas chuckled just as the door swung open, and Peyton appeared, surprised to see the pair sitting there.

"It appears I'm making a bit of a habit of interrupting your conversations." Peyton said awkwardly as she dropped her bag at the door.

Brooke quickly glanced between the two before standing up; "I'm gonna… yeah… welcome home Peyton." She said awkwardly before hurrying out of the room before a fight erupted.

Peyton and Lucas stood in an uncomfortable silence for a moment, before Peyton decided to make it even _more_ uncomfortable.

"So, you're with Brooke now?" she asked.

"No, Peyton. I'm not with Brooke. We're friends."

Peyton grimaced. How could they be friends after everything that happened? _"Weird."_

"Yeah I know, but it works." Lucas grumbled, but with great insistence as he ran his hand down his face. He was so tired and now he had to find the strength to have this conversation.

Peyton decided now was not the time to have the Brooke discussion and picked a different topic; "Why aren't you at home?" she asked.

"I thought you would be at home." they still hadn't done anything with their apartment because they still hadn't had that talk because Peyton was doing a lot of avoiding. He just couldn't understand how she could live like that - because to him it just wasn't living.

"I just—I assumed that—"

Lucas sighed; "It's fine, just go sleep there tonight, in a real bed."

"… thanks. I've been flying all day, I'm exhausted." She said. "But—can we talk before I go? I really want us to talk Lucas. I really want us to make this work."

Lucas looked at the woman in front of him. He barely recognised her anymore. He didn't know what to say to her. He was still so angry. He was sick of Peyton putting herself first. He was sick of being put on the side lines. He told her what he wanted, and she didn't listen.

"I'm not sure that we're worth fighting for." Lucas confessed as Peyton took a step back, like she had just been wounded. "I said it two weeks ago and I still mean it Peyton." He said as he stood from the bed.

"Is this about Brooke?" she asked quietly.

"No, this is about us." Lucas made clear. There was no reason to bring Brooke back into this.

"It's funny, she used to be worried about me and now I'm worried about her. How times have changed." Peyton said with a scoff.

"There is nothing going on between me and Brooke—" he said for what felt like the hundredth time.

"I'm not an idiot Lucas, people talk. I know you've gotten closer since Ted died, I know—I know she's been there for you too." Peyton told him. She may not have said anything, but she knew. "You loved her. I know you did so I wouldn't blame you if those feelings came back—"

"Peyton—"

"But you chose me. I am your girlfriend, you should be putting me first, not Brooke. Is that really so hard?" she selfishly begged.

Lucas scoffed, "I don't know Peyton, you tell me? You ran off to Africa, I asked you to stay, you didn't listen to me, you didn't listen to what was going on in my life, so something tells me you don't know the first thing about putting someone else first! It's always about _you._"

Peyton remained silent, not knowing how to respond. She was so wrapped in her own world that she couldn't look past it to how Lucas was really feeling and how desperate he was to just get out.

"So like I said. I _know_ it's not worth fighting for." He reiterated, before opening the door and leaving the room.

* * *

Brooke paced the living room in front of Kate, waiting for Rachel to get home. She didn't know what came over her, but as soon as she left that on-call room, she was determined to make them sort things out. She really didn't need the added stress of trying to get them to get along. She heard Rachel on the front porch talking with Johnny. She immediately stormed towards the door and flung it open, not even sorry that she had interrupted their private moment.

_"You,_ in here." She said as she dragged Rachel into the house. "Your love fest can wait Johnny" Brooke said as she closed the door in his face just as he started to ask if he could at least wait in Rachel's room.

Brooke pulled Rachel by the hand into the living room and sat her down beside Kate.

"Ok._ I_ live here too, and that means _I _get a say in how this living situation is going to work, and I say you two need to figure your crap out." Brooke told them. "I know that families fight, my family is a _prime_ example of that, and I miss them so much, and while I miss them, I need you two to be my family. That may mean a little bit of bickering, but it also means compromise. It also means trying to create a harmonious living environment for the sake of all of our sanities! So—_talk."_ Brooke said as she crossed her arms as Kate and Rachel sat, a little taken aback by Brooke's exclamation.

"I'm sorry about Maya's crying and walking her up and down the hallway outside your bedroom… it wasn't fair." Kate apologised.

"I'm sorry I said you had fleas." Rachel said with her arms stubbornly crossed over her chest.

"_Rachel!"_ Brooke exclaimed, knowing that was not the way to win Kate over.

Rachel sighed and turned to look at Kate, "Sometimes, I don't know how to talk to you. You were effectively my boss and now you're my roommate and it's weird seeing you out of that habitat and it's weird seeing you and Brooke _actually_ getting along. I don't know how to take it all…" she confessed as Brooke encouraged her to keep going. "But… I do know that you are Brooke's family and Brooke is _my_ family, which means we're going to have to get along… because we're family now too." She insisted.

Kate and Brooke were touched by Rachel's surprising words. Maybe this roommate experiment could work out after all.

* * *

Meanwhile, Peyton wasn't prepared to just accept that her relationship was over. Lucas didn't think they were worth fighting for, but she sure as hell did, and she made sure he knew that. She immediately moved back into the house and starting cooking him dinner and acting like everything was fine, much to the annoyance of Lucas. Her blasé attitude to what he had said was driving him crazy. He needed his space, but she just wouldn't listen to him.

"I don't understand why she can't be civil and rational and realise that she's fighting a losing battle. She won't listen to anything I have to say. Now she's decided that this is the hill she's gotta die on. Of course, that hill is my living room—" Lucas complained to Brooke as they walked down the hallway.

They stopped at the nurse's station and Brooke leaned on the desk "I honestly don't know what you want me to say right now." She replied. She probably wasn't the best person to be talking this thing through with.

"… just go work Brooke" Lucas said defeated as she lifted a tablet from behind the desk.

"If you need a place to crash, your old room is still empty." she offered.

"No, no, it's fine. If I leave, she wins. You know, she does not win my living room. See? That's not civil!" Lucas moaned before walking away, leaving Brooke sighing at the whole thing.

"Lucas, wait" she called as he turned back to her. "You can't keep doing this, you can't turn this into a war." She reasoned. She really didn't want to get in the middle of this, but she figured if she didn't at least try and make _Lucas_ be rational, he'd do something he regretted out of anger and frustration. "She was probably your best friend before you started dating and I don't think that's something you should so easily forget. I know it's hard, I know you're mad, but you just – you need to get out of the house. It's just a house! There are plenty of them in Raleigh. Take the high road, be the better person, or you might end up doing something you can't take back." She encouraged as Lucas nodded his head, realising that ending on a sour note with Peyton maybe wasn't the best idea.

* * *

That night, Lucas ended up taking Brooke's offer of a place to crash. Rachel was a little confused when he rocked up at the door, but Brooke had always been in the business of taking in strays. Brooke insisted that it was just for a few nights, but Rachel knew better than to take her word for it. What she was most concerned about was the fact that Lucas was turning to Brooke for help. She knew that they had been friends for the past while, but she worried what it would do to Brooke to have Lucas so close again. To have him leaning on her while he sorted out his relationship.

The following morning, Lucas creeped down the hallway and knocked on Brooke's door. He stuck his head round the door and saw her sleeping.

"Brooke" He whispered loudly.

"_What?"_ Brooke bit back, annoyed that she had been woken up before her alarm.

"Man, I forgot how grouchy you were in the mornings…"

"If you don't like it, then go away." She grumbled into her pillow.

"I need a towel, there's none left in the closet." He told her.

"On the floor" she said as she motioned to the end of her bed.

He picked up the towel and saw that it was still a little damp from when she had used it yesterday_. "Fresh."_ He commented.

"Do you want to damn towel or not?" she snapped, wishing he would just go away.

"Alright, _geez…"_ he said as he held his hands up.

Brooke rolled over and opened her eyes, noticing for the first time that Lucas was standing there in only his boxers. Her eyes widened involuntarily. He looked good. He _always_ looked good. Lucas laughed when he noticed her staring.

"Take a picture Davis, it'll last longer." He teased.

Brooke glared; _"shut up"_ she groaned before she threw her pillow over her head.

Lucas left the room laugh, but his smile fell when he immediately walked into Rachel, who was standing there was a smirk on her face.

"Well. Good morning." She greeted.

"It's not—it's not what it looks like." Lucas immediately defended.

"You don't have to explain anything to me…" she said as she carried her smirk all the way to the bathroom. As much as she worried about Brooke, she also couldn't help but wish they'd get their act together and just be happy.

* * *

A short while later, Kate, Rachel and Brooke were all on their way to work and of course Rachel wanted to discuss the fact that Lucas was sneaking around the house this morning.

"So, Lucas is back in his old room..." Kate commented as Brooke rolled her eyes, not liking where this was no doubt going.

"That is not where I saw him this morning…" Rachel said, trying to stir the pot.

"Rachel…" Brooke warned with a glare.

"Where did you see him this morning?" Alex asked.

"_Nowhere."_ Brooke said quickly.

"Coming out of Brooke's room" Rachel added with a shrug, as if it was no big deal.

"_Rachel!"_ Brooke squealed as she turned to smack Rachel on the leg as she sat in the back seat.

"Brooke Penelope Davis you did _not_." Kate said in a warning tone.

_God, it was like living with her mother all over again. _Brooke thought as she quickly rushed to defend herself. "I didn't! He was looking for a towel."

"To be honest, I'm surprised he_ hasn't_ made it to your bed yet." Rachel added. You could cut the tension between the two of them with a _knife._

"We are friends, _nothing_ more." Brooke made clear, wishing this subject would just be dropped. It was making the whole being friends with Lucas thing really, very, _very_ hard.

"Oh _please_, it's only a matter of time before that one is ignited again…" Rachel grumbled. "Kate, what time do you want us home tonight to help set up for tonight?"

Brooke and Kate looked at each other confused. "What's tonight?"

"The dinner party." Rachel reminded them. Kate had arranged a little dinner party for some of the staff of Raleigh Med. It had been a while since they'd all sat down and just enjoyed themselves and she figured they deserved a nice night amidst the chaos of their jobs.

"The dinner party's not tonight." Kate told him.

"It's on the 14th, that's weeks away." Brooke added.

Rachel rolled his eyes; "Today is the 14th. You all need adult supervision, you can't even keep track of the date…" she scolded as Kate groaned. This day just got a little more stressful.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the hospital, Haley and Nathan were walking through the hallway. Haley had been thinking a lot about this dinner party they were supposed to go to, and she just felt a little weird about it. It was more than unusual for a resident to be having dinner with a bunch of attendings, and even though Nathan was still a resident, he was already a part of that little clique and Haley felt like an outsider.

"I don't think I'm going to go to this dinner party thing tonight, I think I'm going to work." Haley told him.

Nathan sighed; "Haley, you were invited." He told her, like he'd told her already ten times.

"They don't like me. They're _your _friends, they're_ my_ bosses." Haley told him, completely forgetting the fact that the attendings were still his bosses too, despite the fact that he was good friends with a few of them, particularly Lucas.

"Brooke will be there, she's one of your best friends." Nathan reminded her.

"She's one of you too, she can deny it all she wants but she is. She is in the inner circle. They treat me like a resident, not like a person."

"I want them to know you. _Come._" He insisted, as he kissed her cheek and walked away.

Haley watched him walk away for a brief moment before she turned her head slightly and saw Brooke staring at her with a raised eyebrow.

"What?" Haley questioned.

"This little posse that you've been invited to dinner with, controls this place. Not only have I given you an in on _multiple_ occasions, but so has Nathan. You go to that party, you make friends with the chiefs of neuro, cardio and general, you could join team _unstoppable_. Every surgery in this hospital would be ours. _You're coming_." Brooke told her, not prepared to take no for an answer.

"No promises." Haley said, still entirely unsure. "and what did I hear about Lucas sleeping in your bed?"

Brooke groaned. They had just arrived, how could she already hear about this?

"Oh my god he did _not_ sleep in my bed, he slept in his old room!" Brooke exclaimed.

Haley grimaced, "Do you really think it's a good idea to sleep with Lucas again?"

"I am _not_ sleeping with Lucas!" she defended. "Even if there was an opportunity for a second time, I wouldn't do it as long as Peyton is in the picture."

Haley smirked; "Oh my god you want to." She said, seeing right through her friend's words. She wouldn't do it while he was with Peyton… but she said nothing about doing it when they were apart.

"Haley—"

"You like Lucas again!" She shouted as Brooke quickly tried to shush her.

"Shut up, I do_ not _it's—it's complicated." She said as she looked at her feet. It wasn't something she was proud of and it certainly wasn't something she was willing to admit.

"Nothing complicated about it. It's practically written in the stars that a Scott and a Davis are meant to be. Not to mention the fact that years ago he was pretty much _convinced _he was going to marry you." Haley reminded her.

"I'm walking away now." Brooke told her as she rushed away to get on with her day. She really did need people encouraging her to go after Lucas again. She feared it would only end horribly, despite what her heart was trying to convince her too.

* * *

That evening, the dinner party rolled around and after trying to make herself look semi-presentable and not sleep-deprived, Brooke walked into the kitchen and saw Kate looking flustered. She was trying to be put together two drinks for Mouth and his new girlfriend, but she could barely put one foot in front of the other. When she finally finished putting the drinks together, she froze and just stared at them.

"Were you going to do anything with those?" Brooke asked, snapping Kate out of her trance.

"Uh yes, club soda for Mouth and white wine for his friend" Kate told her as Brooke lifted the drinks and brought them over to Mouth and Pia. What was Kate's problem? She had been full of energy all day, but as soon as people started arriving, she looked startled. Like something had taken her by surprise.

"Oh Brooke!" Mouth said with a smile. "This is our very own golden girl, Brooke Davis. This is Pia." She introduced as Brooke handed them her drinks.

"Very funny." Brooke said with a laugh at Mouth's golden girl comment before turning back to Pia. "Hi—have we met before? You look really familiar." Brooke said. She felt like she knew her from somewhere, but she couldn't place where. Pia gulped. She knew exactly where Brooke recognised her from. But she didn't think now was the time to bring that up.

"Uh, I don't—"

Before Pia could continue, the doorbell rang, and Brooke excused herself to go answer it.

She smiled softly when she opened it to see Lucas standing there.

"Hey" she greeted.

"Hey, you look nice." He complimented as he handed her a bottle of wine.

"Thanks, so do you."

Before anything else could be said, Peyton walked out of the downstairs toilet. They all awkwardly stood there, not knowing what to do, before Peyton took the initiative and walked away.

"What do you think the minimum amount of time is that I have to be here before it counts as 'yeah, Lucas was here?'" Lucas asked, not wanting to sit and make small talk with Peyton all night.

"20 minutes minimum… if this weren't a dinner party. Your empty seat is going to give you away. So, you're staying and you're going to have a good time." She said with a tight smile as she patted his arm.

"Alright _mom_…" Lucas teased as Brooke smirked and rolled her eyes, while a jealous Peyton watched on from the side lines.

* * *

As the evening progressed, it was proving to be a little bit of a flop. Dinner was no where near ready due to the hostesses forgetting they were cooking in the first place and Mouth had left Pia alone with a bunch of strangers after he was called back in for an emergency surgery. Nathan and Lucas had even resorted to ordering tacos on the sly to make up for their hunger. Brooke walked over just as they were ordering them and they slipped their phones away as to not be scolded.

"On a scale of one to ten how much does this party_ suck_?" Brooke asked.

"Well everyone's here for the free food which is nowhere to be seen, it's like you didn't even want to have this party, did someone force you into having this party?" Lucas questioned.

"God, I'd love a taco right about now…" Brooke mumbled as Lucas and Nathan subtly looked at each other.

"Make that 16." Nathan told Lucas as he lifted out his phone.

Pia soon walked into the sitting room and went to lift her coat.

"Sorry, I'm just grabbing my coat—"

"You're leaving?" Brooke questioned. She hadn't really had the chance to talk to Pia, but she seemed like a nice person, she would happily like to talk to her some more. Brooke had always been fond of Mouth and she was naturally protective over her friends - so she wanted to make sure that Pia was right for him.

"I'm not feeling so great—"

"Mouth will be right back, I know this is a really tight bunch and it is really easy to feel stuck outside, but once they know you, you'll have friends for life. They're nice. _We're_ nice." She said as she looked at Lucas and Nathan who realised they should be agreeing with Brooke in that moment. They quickly nodded and mumbled various choruses of 'yeah, we're nice.'

"I appreciate that, but I should really just go and call it a night." Pia insisted, but Rachel walked into the room and told them dinner was ready.

Brooke ushered Pia into the room and insisted she at least stayed to eat. She may as well since it's what she was here for. Brooke told her to sit down opposite herself and Lucas, so they could talk a little bit more, making Pia more and more apprehensive. Brooke had no idea who she was and if she ever did find out, she sensed things would explode.

Things started off pleasantly as they all made small talk with Pia. It soon however took a turn for the worse when talk of jobs came up. Pia was also a surgeon, but at a hospital that no one hoped they would hear speak of again.

"Where exactly do you work Pia?" Brooke asked, oblivious to how tensely Pia was sitting. She was dreading this question all night, it was why she was trying to leave, so not to upset anyone.

"A smaller suburban centre out by the—"

"She works at Raleigh South Hospital." Kate told them, seeing as Pia was willing to dance around the subject.

Brooke's face fell as everyone looked even more confused. It didn't take long for people to twig why this was an issue as Lucas frantically looked at Brooke, who looked completely frozen.

"Raleigh South? Isn't that where um—" Peyton started as Kate cut her off.

"That's where Ted died. Isn't that right Pia?" Kate asked. She had recognised Pia as soon as she'd walked through the door. She was one of Ted's doctors. She was one of the doctors who failed to assess that he had a serious head injury that needed to be checked. If they had have checked it and rectified the situation with only a few burr holes in his skull, Ted might be sitting at this dinner table with them all right now.

Pia gulped; "That's right."

"Perfect Pia killed my husband. Excuse me." Kate quickly said as she stood from the table and left the room before she completely broke. She let her anger get the better of her, but she didn't want to see the fall out that was about to ensue - especially from Brooke.

"What did she say?" Brooke asked in a whisper, wanting to hear it from her mouth.

"I think what she meant—what she was trying to say—" Pia said, stumbling over her words.

"So, you were one of Ted's doctors?" Haley asked, wanting to clarify what was going on - for everyone at the table, but especially for Brooke.

"I was one of them, yes." Pia confirmed.

Everything started to click in Brooke's head as she saw Pia's face standing in Ted's hospital room as clear as day. She saw her in the corridors, she saw her in the room when Ted's life support was turned off. She was _right there_. How could Brooke have missed it? She figured it was because she'd tried to blank out as much of that day as possible.

"You were there that night. You treated him. That's where I recognise you from." Brooke said as Pia nodded.

"The night Kate's husband came in—"

"My dad. Ted was my _dad_. Which I think you know. So don't talk about him like he was _nothing_ to me when I am_ right _beside you." Brooke snapped. How could she be in her house right now? How could this be happening? How could Kate let her sit there and talk to her when she knew who she was? "What happened to him?" Brooke asked quietly as the whole room fell into an eerie silence. "because when I got there, he was brain dead, brain dead from an injury that could have been _fixed_. So how did he die Pia?" Brooke demanded to know. If someone had have just attended to his head injury, Ted would have been fine.

"Maybe this isn't the best idea—" Peyton said, desperate to relieve the tension around the table.

Brooke banged her hand against the table, "No Peyton!" she shouted. "She was _there_, I want to hear what happened, I know he would have been _fine,_ so what did you do? Did you make a mistake? Just tell me what happened!" Brooke shouted as the tears streamed down her face.

"I was the resident on call that night. We were understaffed, five came in with him and her husba—your dad was bleeding in his chest and abdomen."

"My dad died of a brain bleed." Brooke stated.

"He was bleeding into his chest, a choice was made to skip CT. I thought he needed one. I should have pushed harder—"

"Hell yeah you should have!" Brooke shouted. She knew exactly what had happened to Ted. Kate had told her everything. But she wanted to hear it from _her_ mouth. She wanted to hear exactly what_ she_ did wrong. She wanted to make sure that she knew it.

"Then I was stuck waiting on a neuro attending who was not good enough - I'm very sorry. I should just go." Pia said as she made her way towards the door.

"I didn't see him, my brothers didn't see him, Kate didn't see him before he was put on a ventilator, _you did. You_ were the last one to see him—" Brooke shouted after her. "Did he say _anything_ to you? Can you tell me what his last words were?" Brooke said as her voice finally started to break.

"I think that's enough." Rachel said, seeing that this wasn't going to help Brooke in the slightest.

"I want you gone. _Now._" Brooke said through her teeth as she stormed up the stairs to find Kate and confront her about what just happened. She'd basically just fed her to the wolves down. She'd caused a commotion and didn't even see it through. She barged straight into Kate's room. Kate took one look at the anger written all over Brooke's face and ran her hand through her hair.

"I really do _not_ want to talk about this—"

"You knew who she was all night and you _never_ bothered telling me." Brooke said angrily as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Brooke—"

"She killed my dad, you invite her in here, you let me sit there and talk to her all night—why would you do that to me?"

It was now Kate turn to get angry as she stood up and glared straight through Brooke; "_I_ did this to _you_?"

"You should have told me!"

"I did _nothing_ to you. I lost my husband and the father of daughter—"

"I was his kid too!" Brooke said, shutting Kate up. "Although I know that is your _favourite_ thing to forget!"

Lucas appeared at the door just as Brooke exploded and realised he should probably make this stop before it ended horribly. He knew Brooke and he knew she would regret getting angry with Kate in the heat of the moment.

"Brooke—"

"Get her out of my room!" Kate shouted as Lucas quickly ushered her out and into her own room.

Once Lucas closed the door, Brooke started pacing the floor, trying to comprehend what had just happened.

"Do you need me to call your mom or Harry?" Lucas asked, desperately trying to look for a solution to her sadness.

Brooke finally stopped pacing and took a deep breath; "No, I just—I need a minute."

"That was a horrible night for a lot of people—"

Brooke turned to look at him; "Yeah. I know. Yet Kate just threw me out of her room when we should be in this _together._ I asked her why she didn't tell me. That's_ all_ I wanted to know. She shouldn't have let it get that far, but she did, now she's acting like she's the only one who lost something." She said, wanting to defend herself. She had every right to feel this way, this was her _father_ they were talking about. "I was doing really good." Brooke said quietly. "The last year has been hell and I am _finally_ getting back on my feet, starting to feel some sort of normality, and then_ this_ happens, and I feel my life crumbling all over again." She confessed as Lucas took a step forward and rubbed his hands up and down her arms. Brooke scoffed; "And here you are. Standing being the perfect guy. The perfect guy that _I can't have_."

Lucas gulped. He never expected Brooke to admit such a thing. He always thought there would be this unspoken tension between them. "I am not perfect. My relationship is falling apart and—nothing in me really wants to stop that from happening. Because here you are, in all your messy glory, being the messy glory that_ I_ can't have." He said as he pushed some of her hair out of her face. Sometimes it felt like they might never get their chance, but they could only hope.

Brooke wiped her eyes; "I guess we're just perfect messes."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Maybe one day we can be perfect messes together."

"Yeah. _One day."_

* * *

**I have a feeling you guys are *_really*_ going to like the next chapter...**


	19. Begin Again

* * *

* * *

**Hi everyone! I just wanted to clarify a few things before we get into so good Brucas content:****1) Peyton didn't have anything to to do with Ted's death, it was another girl called Pia that had been seeing Mouth. It was really just a set up for some Brooke and Kate angst and showing that this is still very much affecting Brooke in significant ways.****2) The baby's name is Maya - it was originally Ellie and then I changed it but I missed a few name changes in previous chapters so my apologies! I'll get those changed asap (apologies if a few more slip through)****Without further ado... it's time to begin again.**

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen – Begin Again**

"I'm fine, mom." Brooke insisted as she spoke with Victoria on the phone as she arrived at the hospital.

"_Honey, please do not lie to me—"_

"I'm in a good place and I know I went a little crazy at dinner—"

_"Justifiably so. I can't believe she would stay once she saw you and Kate there, she should have left!"_ Victoria exclaimed, annoyed about the entire situation. As soon as Brooke had calmed down, she called her mother, just for an extra ear to unload onto._"I knew it was too much to ask that this family could have a period of peace from all the hurt and drama."_

"She was hoping I wouldn't remember who she was, and that Kate didn't say anything." Brooke concluded. She had significantly calmed down after their disastrous dinner party. She couldn't control what happened to her dad and it wasn't like she had to be friends with this girl, so she just decided to put it behind her and move forward. "I have more important things to worry about, such as the fact that Kate is intent on making my life miserable right now..."

"_Are you two still not speaking?" _

"_Barely._ She's acting like _I'm_ the one who wronged her. I guess it's just another thing that's too good to be true—that Kate and I would get on longer than a few months." Brooke grumbled as she spotted Lucas walking towards her with two coffees in hand.

"_I'm sorry honey, I really wish I could be there with you."_

"I'm fine mom, I'm a big girl."

_"I know. I also know how strong you are. You've been through so much Brooke and you always come out the other side with a smile on your face. You can do just the same right now."_

"Thanks momma. I gotta go, I love you."

_"Love you too honey, call me later."_

"I will, bye." Brooke hung up the phone and gratefully accepted the coffee from Lucas. "Thank you, what did I do to deserve this?"

"I'm a firm believer that good news should also come with a coffee." He told her.

Brooke raised her eyebrow; "What kind of good news?"

"A patient is coming in today with Ollier's disease and I was thinking you could remove them the tumours from his growth plates, so I can get in there and reconstruct the hand."

Brooke eyed Lucas curiously as a small smiled graced her face; "Hold on—_I'll _do the dissection?"

"If you're up for it."

"_Hell_ yes I am, but you're not just giving this to me because you're trying to cheer me up—"

"Oh, that is_ exactly_ why I'm giving it you." He teased, but he wasn't lying. He wanted her to smile again and what better way than with a kick ass surgery? "Plus, you're kind of a good surgeon…" he complimented as Brooke smiled widely.

"Oh ok" she said with a giggle as they made their way into the hospital. She normally wasn't keen on any kind of special treatment, but today, a difficult and bloody surgery was exactly what she needed.

"By the way, I'm going to talk to Peyton tonight…" Lucas said as Brooke looked at him, completely surprised. He'd been avoiding her all week and camping out at Brooke's house, but he realised it was probably time he dealt with things. Peyton was holding on to something that wasn't there and he needed to make that clear.

"Oh. That's—that's good?" Brooke said as more of a question. She was nervous for him and she didn't want to assume she knew how he was feeling about it.

"Yeah. It will be. It's just – it's over Brooke and I need her to realise that so we can both move on and be happy." He told her. What he really wanted to say was 'so I can move on and be happy with _you_' but he knew that wouldn't help the situation in the slightest. He went about his relationship with Brooke entirely wrong the first time and he was determined not the screw it up again. "So you'll be glad to know that you can have your spare room back" he told her.

Brooke smirked, "Yeah, I was thinking of turning it into a second closet space…" she said as Lucas laughed. "You think I'm kidding"

"Oh I _know_ you're serious, I have seen first hand the amount of clothes you have Brooke, it's a _miracle_ that everything doesn't fall out on top of you when you open your wardrobe" he teased as Brooke shoved him lightly.

"Oh whatever…" she grumbled.

"I'll call you later. We can hang out." He told her casually as Brooke nodded and Lucas disappeared to get ready for the day in the attending's lounge.

She really felt for Lucas and Peyton. It was a horrible thing to have to go through, all circumstances aside. Brooke knew Lucas really cared for Peyton. They'd been through a lot together as doctors, as friends and as more than that. She knew he would always want her as a friend, but as a couple? It wasn't meant to be. They weren't right for each other. Perhaps they were just too similar.

What was still undetermined however, was whether Peyton was going to take any of this.

* * *

Peyton had been avoiding Lucas all day. She was surprised when he called her saying he wanted to talk, and then she realised that this wasn't a good thing. Lucas had made it clear he didn't want to make amends and deep down—she knew he wasn't going to change his mind. She knew what he was going to say and right now, she didn't want to hear it. She said she would talk to him, but she had been doing her best to postpone, until Lucas managed to hunt her down on the way out.

"I uh—I can't talk right now." Peyton said as she tried to walk past him, but Lucas had enough of the avoiding and the not talking. He wanted to sort this out—tonight.

"Peyton, please just listen to me!"

Peyton spun on her heel to look at him; "I don't want to listen to you because I know what you're going to say!"

"No you don't!"

"Yes, I do! You're going to say Peyton, I love you, but I love Brooke _more!_ I'm not blind Lucas, I'm not stupid. I see the way you look at her, _everyone_ does!" she screamed at him as he fell silent, not knowing what to say back. "See. You can't even disagree with me Lucas. So go ahead. I'm listening. _Say it!"_

"Peyton—I don't regret the time we've spent together. I really don't. You will always mean so much to me but—_we don't work_. We just can't get on the same page and we don't make each other happy and I think you know that. I don't want to lose you as a friend and I realise that we may not be able to be there for each other right away, but I really hope we can get to that point someday. So please. Let's stop this fighting, let's try and get to a better place." He insisted as his eyes filled with tears. Just because he was the one ending it, didn't mean it didn't hurt him to do so.

Peyton nodded as she wiped away her tears, "Are you really going to choose her over me?"

Lucas shook his head; "No. I'm choosing _me_ over you." He said, making it clear that this had nothing to do with Brooke. He was removing something from his life that was making him miserable and that was that.

"What can she give you that I can't?" Peyton begged to know.

"_Herself."_ Lucas said immediately. While he wasn't doing this for Brooke, it didn't changed that fact that he was hopelessly in love with her – and he didn't want to pretend otherwise. "She can give me herself and I can give her me. She has been a light at the end of a very dark tunnel. We had our chapter Peyton and yes, it's ended the hard, but I'll never take what we had for granted… but it's gone and we need to move on."

Peyton merely looked at her feet. She knew that he was right, but she didn't want to admit it. She also knew that he really should have been with Brooke this whole time. She was selfish and manipulative and pulled him in based on a long term friendship all because she was lonely and jealous. He deserved better and he had found better. If she really loved him, she would just let him go.

So, she did just that. She took one last look at him before turning and walking away. It was all she could do in that moment. It was all the closure she could allow herself to get. Maybe one day they could make amends and be friends, but right now - it was just too hard. Lucas had found his soulmate, and she had no one.

* * *

In the following few weeks Peyton and Lucas kept themselves to themselves. They didn't want people questioning them about where things went wrong or giving them sympathy. They just wanted to get on with things. Lucas even stayed clear of Brooke. He didn't want to rush into something straight after the end of his relationship. He knew it wasn't right and he knew it wasn't fair. Brooke was thankful of this too. She knew she rushed into things with Julian and she didn't want Lucas to make the same mistake without giving himself the time and space to really get over his relationship with Peyton.

While Brooke and Lucas kept their distance from one another, Brooke turned her attention to her relationship with Kate. They were both adults, they both knew the same pain—why couldn't they just put it all aside and be there for each other? As hard as she tried to make things work, Brooke found herself snapping one afternoon when Kate walked past her in the ICU and completely ignored her.

"Are you going to ignore me forever?" Brooke asked as Kate stopped and turned around, her face not giving away any emotions.

"I'm a little busy Brooke."

"Yeah, so am I, but I have time to acknowledge my family, you can't even look at me."

"Not now Brooke." Kate said as she turned to walk away, but Brooke called after her again.

"Is it because I look like him?" she asked as Kate froze. "Is it because I remind you of him?" she asked, wanting to know if having a living embodiment of Ted in her face every day was too much for her. Was that why she couldn't look at her? "Here's me thinking you'd want to keep whatever you could that was his around. We should be doing this_ together._ We're family. Or at least that's what you told me. Dad is gone. My brothers and my mom are in New York. _You are all that I have._ Please don't shut me out anymore." Brooke begged. She couldn't believe that she was standing in front of Kate Grant, asking her to accept her.

Kate turned around and walked towards Brooke, then she pulled her in for a hug. Brooke didn't think she had ever hugged Kate in the 14 years she had known her.

"Ok." Kate simply said as Brooke felt the tension leave her body and she hugged Kate back.

* * *

Things just kept ticking along in Raleigh Med, with nothing major or significant happening. Brooke was still working exceptionally hard to get onto her neuro fellowship and she was slowly but surely getting there. She was every neuro attending's resident of choice, so there wasn't really much more she could do. Brooke did find it a little strange that things were so quiet in her life. Kate and Rachel were getting along, Lucas was barely speaking to her, but not through fault of her own, and her friends and family were doing well. It was almost uneasy that everything was ok, but she was determined to make it last for as long as possible.

One evening as she was cleaning up around the house, there was a knock at the door. As she opened it, she was surprised to see Lucas on the other side of it. They had barely spoken to one another in over a month, but he was growing more and more frustrated with not speaking to her. He needed to make she was doing ok. He needed to be in her life, so he decided to make a bold move. He'd always advocated making bold moves after all - he figured it was time he followed his own advice.

"Hey" he greeted quietly.

"Hey" she replied, unsure what to say next.

"Are you alone?"

"Yeah, Kate took Maya to visit her mom for the next little while and Rachel is at Johnny's." Brooke told him.

Lucas nodded as he looked at his hands.

"Do you—do you want to come in?" Brooke asked, seeing that he was too afraid to ask.

Lucas nodded again as Brooke moved out of the way of the door and let him into the house. He slowly followed her into the kitchen, not really knowing what to say. He watched her as she lifted some glasses and poured him a glass of water. It was more so she had something to do rather than just awkwardly standing there, staring, not having any clue how to approach everything that had been going on.

"I uh—I know we haven't really spoken in the past while—" Lucas began.

Brooke held up her hand; "Lucas, seriously, it's ok. You were going through some pretty big stuff, I don't think talking to me would have really helped that." she made clear. She missed him immensely, but she also understood that this was probably for the best. It wasn't fair to anyone for them to jump into something so quickly. They had been quick the first time and it had back fired massively.

"That's the thing" Lucas began; "through everything, you were the only person I wanted to talk to."

Brooke gulped as she realised she and Lucas were finally going to have to come clean with one another. They were finally going to have to fess up to all the feelings that had been brewing inside them.

"You were staying in my house." Brooke began as Lucas give her a minute to gather her thoughts and continue. "There's this unspoken thing between us and it's weird. It's _super_ weird and I don't know why I do this to myself, you dumped me, rather publicly I might add, I don't know why I'm holding onto probably getting my heart broken again. I had this great guy propose to me, but I couldn't do it." She said, trying to understand the whole thing herself in that moment.

"It's all really complicated—"

"I know—"

"And I know it's so wrong but God—_I want you Brooke._ I want you so bad it_ consumes_ me. I've been moping around the hospital not just because it's over with Peyton but because I don't know if I would ever have another chance with you because God knows I don't deserve it. I didn't end things with Peyton because of you. I did it for me, but I wanted you to be there at the end of it all." He made clear as he started to walk towards her, but she found herself pulling back.

"I'm not going to be your rebound Lucas."

"You're not. If we both just wanted to feel better, we would have done this a lot sooner." Lucas pointed out.

Brooke kept backing away until she had hit the wall and there was nowhere to go. She looked up at Lucas as his intense blue eyes gazed into hers. "How can I trust you?" she asked in a whisper as Lucas's nose brushed hers.

"I've been the only person you've _really_ trusted over the last year. Why should that change now?"

He was right. He had been everything to her over the past year and right in this moment—he was everything to her _now._

"No more games Brooke. No more confusion. No more heart ache. I'm the guy for you Brooke Davis and I know I hurt you the last time-"

Brooke cautiously stood on her the tips of her toes and delicately kissed him, waiting for him to respond - which he immediately did. His hands found her hair as he took complete control of the kiss. They kissed like they had never kissed anybody before, the kissed with all the longing that was in their hearts. They didn't realise just how much they missed each other's touch until that moment.

Their passion for one another took over as Lucas ferverently kissed her, scooped her up in his arms and carried her upstairs, ready to show her just how he felt.

* * *

Two weeks later, Kate had returned from her extended trip to visit her mom. When she got home, she'd realised just how tired she was and the rest and relaxation was just what she needed to feel better. While she was there, it had also given her time to think. She'd been watching silently from the side lines for the past year as Brooke started to let Lucas back in again. She'd watched as she'd pined after him and he'd pined after her and Kate had said nothing. She didn't think it was her place. But she knew all too well how short life could be and she didn't want Brooke to waste time not being with the people she loved.

"Welcome home!" Brooke greeted happily as she hugged Kate and said hi to Maya. "Can I get you anything?" Brooke asked as they walked into the living room.

"I'm fine, sit down, I need to tell you something." Kate insisted as Brooke sat opposite her, a little confused. "I just spent two weeks back home just… thinking. I realised - there's a lot of things people don't say to each other that they should. So I need you to hear me when I say this. I know that you have been really hurt in the past. But I also know, and I have known for a _long_ time that _Lucas Scott loves you with all that is in him._ 'Shout from the roof stops, write romantic letters to' loves you. Don't run from that. Life is far too short to run from what makes us most happy."

Brooke gulped unsure what to say. She was completely surprised by Kate's words. She knew that despite everything, she loved Lucas with all that was in her, but it was difficult to accept that he might actually feel the same way. Over the past few weeks, they'd been going on a few dates, they'd kissed, but the night they spent together hadn't been repeated. She was so scared to jump back into something, even though she had a funny feeling it would be the best choice she ever made.

It didn't take long for Brooke to realise that in that moment, she had to run to him. She didn't really know what she was going to say to him, but she knew she needed to see him, to be near him, to love him.

She knocked on the door of his newly purchased condo and a brief moment later, the door swung open and Lucas was surprised to see Brooke standing there.

"Hi" she greeted softly.

Lucas softened his stance and smiled at her; "Hi" he replied, before moving aside and letting her in. She looked at him for a moment, before she stood on her toes and kissed him, causing him to smile against her lips, eliciting a giggle from her.

"What was that for?" he asked as he wrapped his arm securely around her waist.

"I just really love you." She said as Lucas looked at her, a little surprised. They'd never said it the first time round, and a part of him was glad they didn't – because it made this moment ten times more special.

"You do, huh?" he asked with a smile as Brooke nodded her head and Lucas held her cheeks softly in his hands. "Well… I love you" he said as he delicately kissed her right cheek. "So much" he said as he slowly moved to kiss her left cheek. Brooke closed her eyes in an attempt to control her emotions and also to just be in this tender moment with him. "I love your brain" he said as he kissed her forehead, "I love your body…" he teased as Brooke let out a little laugh and he kissed the tip of her nose. "and most of all - I love your _soul" _he said as he tilted his head and finally kissed her lips. They wrapped their arms around each other, never wanted to release themselves from this moment, but they also knew that they could – because what they had would be forever. Their timing was finally right and Brooke knew they would love each other until the day they died.

She was more than ready for the rest of her life to begin right now.

* * *

The following day, Brooke was walking through the hospital when she spotted Lucas working at one of the computers to the side of the hallway. She walked over to him with a soft smile.

"Hey, how's it going?" Brooke asked as she stood behind him.

Lucas smirked, more than happy to see her right now; "It's going good. What are you up to?"

"I uh—I have an hour before I need to be in surgery again, I was thinking of taking a nap in the on-call room. You look tired, you should join me." She said with a suggestive smirk.

"You should really be a little more direct with your intentions Dr. Davis. I would hate for you to lead me astray..."

Brooke started to back away from Lucas; "Well, I guess you'll just have to come to the on-call room, if you want to know my intentions."

She then turned around and deliberately snaked her hips in a way that made Lucas go crazy. He quickly closed what he was going on the computer and followed her to the on-call room.

A little while later, Lucas was lying on the bed with a grin on his face as Brooke sat up and began to put her scrubs back on,

"You know… I think we'd make good sex buddies." Brooke joked. After everything they'd said to each other last night, she didn't mean it in the slightest, but there was no harm in teasing, right?

Lucas raised an eyebrow; "Seriously?"

"Oh yeah. We're both hot, we have incredible sex… maybe sex buddies is the way forward. Then you can actually find the head space to get over Peyton." Brooke suggested—only a little bit seriously.

"I _am_ over Peyton—"

"Where have I heard that before? Oh yeah, before you left me for her at the gala." She teased.

"My god, you are _mean_." He teased back.

"That's why you love me right?" she said as she straddled his lap again, resting her hands on either side of his head as her hair fell around her face.

Lucas smiled as he leaned up and began kissing down Brooke's neck, causing her resolve to weaken. "Your meanness is one of the many, many reasons that I love you…" He joked. "I love that you're never afraid to stand up for yourself." He said, twisting the meanness trait to fit Brooke perfectly.

Brooke smiled as Lucas rolled them over, so he could have better access to her neck.

Brooke closed her eyes in pure ecstasy. He was barely doing anything yet he made her feel so alive_. "You love me." _She repeated.

Lucas lifted his head and looked at her lying beneath him. She was looked angelic. "I do. I love you Brooke Davis. More than I could ever express."

"You never told me that when we were together." Brooke said quietly.

"It kinda—it kinda scared me and then I was an _ass_ and, well, you know the rest" he said as Brooke playfully rolled her eyes. "But I mean it Brooke."

Brooke smiled softly; "I love you too."

* * *

_"I did something"_ Brooke said quietly to Rachel as she approached her at the nurse's station later that day. She wanted to tell her best friend about this more than anything, but she was nervous what she might say. She really cared what Rachel thought and she trusted her implicitly - she wanted her support in her relationship.

"… what kind of something?"

"The kind of something that I feel really good and sure about but I'm not sure you're going to feel the same..." She said, leaving Rachel completely confused.

"Ok… well, what did you do?" Rachel asked.

"I may or may not have gotten back together with a certain hospital owning plastic surgeon…" Brooke said as she tried to hide the blush on her cheeks and Rachel gasped.

"Oh my god Brooke Penelope Davis!" she exclaimed as Brooke pulled her into the side room so they didn't draw attention to themselves. "Way to go!" Rachel suddenly encouraged as Brooke looked at her confused. "How long has this been going on?!"

"Uh – maybe two weeks? But officially only last night cause I was sort of avoiding really talking about but then Kate made me see sense and here we are" Brooke said with an awkward shrug and a little laugh. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, it's all just been a bit weird but – I love him so much Rachel and I really hope you can be happy for us."

"Brookie" Rachel said as she hugged her best friend tightly. "I am so beyond happy for you because I know how happy you are when you're with him. I can see the way he looks at you. I can see how much he loves you and something tells me he's learned from his mistakes. You're finally getting your happy ending Davis. _Enjoy it."_ She finished in a whisper as Brooke hugged her that little bit tighter, feeling more thankful than ever for what she had.

* * *

**Yayyyyy!! Things start moving pretty quickly for Brucas now... but when you know, you know - right!?**


	20. A Little Soul

**Chapter Twenty- A Little Soul**

A few months had passed, and things had been going relatively well in Raleigh—which made for a nice change. Brooke and Lucas were moving from strength to strength, happy that they could be together. They managed to keep their relationship on the down low because they didn't want to make a fuss—but everyone knew about it. They weren't as discrete as they thought.

Brooke lay in bed one Friday morning with a peaceful look upon her face. She was looking forward to this weekend as Victoria, Harrison and Matty were coming to Raleigh to visit. It had been a while since she had seen them and she was so excited. Though, admittedly, she was a little nervous about telling them she and Lucas were together again. She hadn't plucked up the courage over the past two months to confess the truth. She knew Matty knew cause he had like a 6th sense and kept making suggestive comments and she thought her mom was suspicious, but she hadn't outright said it yet because she knew it was a touchy subject.

She started to stir awake when she felt butterfly kisses travelling from her cheek to her neck. She rolled over and smile lightly with a groan.

"You are so beautiful in the morning" Lucas told her as he rested his chin on her arm.

Brooke chuckled and opened her eyes to see that he was knelling beside the bed completely dressed. "Stop it, get back into bed"

"I wish I could, but I have surgery and it's going to be a long one, so I might not see you tonight." He told her regretfully.

Brooke sighed; "That's ok, I have a busy day too. Lots of work to do before Mom and the boys arrive tomorrow. But I will feel oh so lonely in this big bed tonight..." She teased.

Lucas smirked; "I promise I'll be here when you wake up in the morning and tomorrow, we will make full use of this big bed..."

"I'm holding you to that." She whispered as he brushed her nose with his before kissing her softly.

"I love you"

"I love you too" she said as she smiled against his lips.

As Lucas left the room, Brooke sighed and snuggled back into bed. However, her face soon fell as she felt uneasy. She rushed out of bed and into the bathroom, before throwing up the contents of her stomach into the toilet.

* * *

A short while Later, Rachel came wandering up the stairs looking for her. She had a rare day off today and wanted to rub it in Brooke's face a little before she went into work.

"Brooke?" Rachel called down the hallway.

"Bathroom" she heard Brooke grumble as she walked down the hall and into the room to find Brooke hunched over the toilet bowl looking pale.

"Are you ok?" Rachel asked as she lifted a glass from the shelf and got her some water.

"I think I have the stomach flu. Can you get me some meds and saltines?" she asked her friend.

Rachel raised her eyebrows; "You want me to nurse you on my day off?"

"We can watch trashy TV all day?" Brooke suggested, knowing that that ought to sweeten the deal.

"… I'll be back in 15" Rachel said after contemplating it for a brief moment. She was going to watch trashy TV all day anyway, so it really made little difference to her.

"You are my hero..."

"Just—stay put. I don't want to have to clean up your vomit." Rachel said as she scrunched up her face.

"You're a_ terrible_ doctor."

Rachel scoffed, "it's totally different when it's a stranger's vomit…" she reasoned.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the hospital, Lucas was scrubbing in for his surgery when Nathan walked into the scrub room.

"Hey, is Brooke ok?" Nathan asked.

Lucas furrowed his eyebrows; "Yeah, why?"

"She called in sick this morning."

"Oh… she was fine when I left her." Lucas said, a little worried about her considering she was in a good mood this morning.

Nathan shrugged; "It's probably just a 24-hour thing. I'll check in on her Later—or you could do that. You are the boyfriend now. Which is weird." He said awkwardly. It wasn't that he didn't like Lucas, they were good friends, he just didn't like what he did to her. Brooke was like his little sister, he didn't want to see her get hurt again.

"Yeah…" Lucas replied, just as awkwardly.

"But you must really be into her, because you know the amount of people who will kick your ass if you screw up again is _crazy."_ Nathan reminded him, knowing that it was a long list—that Nathan was at the top of.

"I love her man." Lucas told him sincerely. This was it for him, he could feel it in his bones. He'd felt it the moment he met her - but he screwed it up, he didn't listen to his gut - and he was so thankful that he was given this second chance.

"Good. Brooke needs love." Nathan told him as Lucas nodded knowing that never in his wildest dreams would he hurt her again.

* * *

"Hey, you made it out of the bathroom." Rachel greeted as she walked upstairs and found Brooke lying in her bed.

"Yeah, I feel a little better." Brooke said as she sat up and Rachel sat on the edge of the bed.

"Maybe it isn't the stomach flu."

"It's probably just a 24 hour thing." Brooke said with a shrug.

"Or something else…" Rachel said cryptically.

Brooke furrowed her eyebrows; "Like what?"

"Food poisoning… pregnancy." She said as she looked sheepishly at Brooke.

"Oh my god you think I'm pregnant?!" Brooke said with a laugh. There was no way that was true, Rachel was just winding her up - there was no way she believed it could be true either! Right?

"You and Lucas have been at it like _rabbits _since you got back together—" Rachel said as Brooke slumped into the bed in embarrassment. They had a lot to catch up on... and she certainly wasn't sorry about that.

"I am_ not_ pregnant." Brooke said with certainty. "I'm basically a foetus myself—"

"Brooke. You're 30. You are not practically a _foetus_." Rachel said with an eye roll. She really could be over dramatic when she wanted to be.

Brooke gulped as she started to the period math in her head. Could she really be pregnant? It seemed too unbelievable. She and Lucas had only been together for a few months, this couldn't be happening right _now. _They'd barely gotten their feed off the ground, it seemed _ridiculous._

"I—I can't be pregnant." Brooke said quietly, as the reality of it sunk in.

Rachel smiled softly at her friend, seeing the fear spreading across her face. "Luckily for you, I went to the hospital and got some stuff for a blood test. I'll take it up to the lab and get them to push the results. We'll know by tonight." She said as she lifted the equipment out.

"I won't see Lucas tonight." Brooke said, worrying about telling him.

"That's ok." Rachel reassured her. "We can talk about it before you tell him."

"There will be nothing to tell him because I am _not_ pregnant." Brooke said, trying to convince herself of the fact, but she had a funny feeling Rachel had maybe hit the mark…

* * *

As soon as Rachel got Brooke's blood, she rushed it to the hospital to get it checked that afternoon. After spending some more time with Brooke watching TV and snacking away, or in Brooke's case nibbling at saltines, Rachel came back to the hospital for the results. She was impatiently waiting at lab desk, just as Nathan walked past and eyed her curiously.

"Rachel?" he questioned as Rachel's eyes widened and she turned on her heel.

"Nathan. Hey!" she greeted awkwardly.

"Hey… it's your day off, what are you doing here?"

"I uh—I wanted to chase up some labs for a patient, make sure that everything's ok."

"What patient?" he asked as he crossed his arms.

Rachel silently cursed herself; "I—I totally forgot that I'm paired with you on rounds this week and all my patients are your patients…"

"Uh huh. So, you going to tell me the real reason you're being so sketchy?" he asked.

Rachel sighed; "I don't know if Brooke would—" she slipped.

"Wait, this is about Brooke? You have to tell me now." Nathan said, worried about his friend. Rachel, Nathan and Brooke often came as a trio - there wasn't much they didn't share with each other.

"Nathan—"

"Rachel. I'm serious. What's going on?"

"… Brooke might be pregnant so we're running a blood test to see if she is, though she is adamant that she's not, but I really think—"

"That's why she's not here?" Nathan asked.

"She thinks it's a 24-hour thing." Rachel explained.

Nathan nodded, knowing how much Brooke was probably freaking out right now and how much she needed someone to talk her through this.

"Ok. I'm going over there now." He said as he stuck his head through the hatch. "Steve! Get Dr. Gatina the results she needs, stat!" he demanded before rushing away.

* * *

Nathan soon made his way round to the house and knocked on Brooke's bedroom door. He opened the door and saw Brooke surrounded by snacks and watching the TV on the cabinet.

"Nathan? What are you doing here?" Brooke asked as she sat up straighter.

"You might be pregnant. Where else am I going to be?" he questioned as he sat beside her on the bed. He would always support her through thick and thin.

"Rachel told you?"

"Only because I pried it out of her, so don't be mad at her." Nathan requested.

"Honestly, it's probably just a 24-hour thing…" Brooke said as she twiddled her thumbs, not really believing herself anymore.

"Do you really believe that?" Nathan asked.

Brooke sighed; "I don't know. I'm scared Nathan." She told him honestly.

"I know. But it's ok. It's _really_ ok." He said with a little smile. He didn't want Brooke to think that this was a terrible thing. It could be a really wonderful thing. He knew she'd always wanted to be a mom. Just because it wasn't planned didn't mean it wasn't special.

"I feel like a foetus myself, now there could be one inside me…"

"It's not like you're a child who doesn't have your life together. You love Lucas, he loves you, you're both grown adults, babies are an amazing thing—" Nathan assured her.

"Having kids is a huge deal Nathan, we've only just gotten back on track, we haven't had the big conversations yet. Now we might not get that chance, we're just going to have to deal with the cards we've been dealt. What if he doesn't want this?" Brooke asked quietly as her eyes glistened with tears. She never wanted Lucas to be put in an uncomfortable and unwanted decision.

"That boy would probably repopulate the world with you if you asked him too. He's _crazy_ for you. Who cares about the timing, love is love." Nathan assured her. He and Lucas may have been good friends, but he would always put Brooke first and he would never lie to her. He saw clear as day how Lucas felt about her and he was determined to make her see it.

Brooke nodded. She figured that one day, this was something they would talk about. That someday they would have a family of their own. But now, it was being thrown upon them with no discussion.

"What if I'm a crappy mom?" Brooke asked.

"For such an intelligent girl Brooke, you can be really stupid" Nathan said as he shook his head.

"Oh gee _thanks…_" Brooke grumbled as she turned her shoulder away from him, but Nathan quickly pulled her back.

"I'm serious. You're an amazing sister to Ellie, you practically had a role in raising Matty - You were amazing, and you were so young. You are going to be the best mother in the world. I'd place money on it."

Brooke tried to smile softly at Nathan for his sincerity, but she struggled. "Thank you" she whispered, just as Rachel quietly walked into the room and held up the envelope.

"I got the results."

"I can't do it." Brooke said almost immediately as she shook her head.

"Yes you can—"

"No, no, I—I can't do it without Lucas. I need Lucas but I'm—I'm not going to see him till tomorrow." Brooke told them.

"His patient died this morning, he's out of surgery." Nathan told her.

Brooke sighed and closed her eyes; "Just what he needs. A dead patient and a pregnant Brooke." This could either be the best day or the worst day of Lucas's life.

"Go see him." Nathan encouraged her as she nodded and got out of bed.

* * *

Brooke paced the surgical wing, waiting for Lucas to come out surgery. She wasn't sure what she was going to say, she just hoped that in the moment it would come to her. Her head shot up when the door to the scrub room opened and Lucas appeared, surprised to see her.

"Hey" He greeted.

"Hey… I'm sorry about your patient." Brooke told him.

Lucas nodded; "Yeah, it sucks."

"Pretty tough day."

"Yeah. Are you feeling better?" he asked, remembering that Nathan had told him she called in sick.

"Yeah, a little." Brooke said as Lucas affectionately rubbed her arms.

"Must have been pretty bad to keep you off." Lucas said knowing that Brooke hated to miss work for any reason. She usually fought through any kind of sickness that she had. "Was it just a 24-hour thing?" he questioned.

"I'm not sure" she told him quietly as his face fell, seeing the worry that was spread across hers.

Lucas looked down at her hands and saw that she was holding a brown envelope. "What's that?" he asked as he pointed to it.

"I got a blood test. I don't want to make this day more difficult for you Lucas. But uh—I think I might be pregnant." She said, the words quickly flowing out of her mouth.

Lucas raised his eyebrows; "Oh. Wow." Was all he managed to say.

"Yeah, I know…"

"That's not exactly what I expected to hear today" he said with a little Laugh, trying to lighten the mood.

"I know it's a lot. I wanted to open the results with you and I know we haven't even gotten to a stage where we can talk about this kind of stuff but—I love you. No matter what and we are being dealt these cards for a reason. I truly believe that" she said as confidently as she could.

Lucas smiled at her and he ran his thumb across her cheek. He loved this woman so much. He wanted nothing more than to have a family with her—even if the timing didn't seem right.

"Let's find out." He encouraged as she nodded and opened the envelope, scanning the results.

"Oh my god"

Lucas's face fell; "What? Are you dying?" he panicked unnecessarily.

"_No_, no, I'm a little low on iron, but I'll get supplements for that—"

_"Brooke—_" Lucas grumbled. It drove him _nuts_ sometimes when she went off in a tangent, especially in particularly important moments.

"Along with my prenatal vitamins." She told him as she finally looked up at him, a little stunned.

"You're—"

"I'm pregnant." She confirmed.

"Pregnant. We made a baby" he said, as he tried to process this news.

Brooke nodded; "We made a baby."

_"We're having a baby._" He repeated, before a huge grin graced his face and Brooke felt herself automatically smiling back at him.

_"We're having a baby!"_ she said happily as he lifted her up and hugged her close. "Wait, wait, wait." She said as he set her down on the ground. "You're really ok with all of this?"

"You have always been my light at the end of the tunnel and being able to do this with you… it's exciting and I—I can't wait to start forever with you. I love you" he told her as he cupped her cheeks.

Brooke smiled widely again; "I love you too." She responded as he rested his forehead against hers.

"It's you and me pretty girl… now and forever." He whispered.

Maybe this hadn't been planned. Maybe the timing seemed off. But in that moment—nothing felt more right.

* * *

Brooke walked through the hospital corridors the following Friday morning, a little jittery. Victoria, and her brothers were due to arrive at any minute and while she was excited to see them, she was also nervous about telling them her big news. She wasn't sure how they would react. As if telling them she and Lucas were back together wasn't big enough, she was now dropping a baby bombshell on them too. It was bound to put their heads in a spin.

She saw Lucas come towards her with his head in one of the hospital tablets.

"Lucas" she called as he looked up, surprised to see her.

"Hey, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be meeting your mom and brothers?" he asked as he quickly kissed her cheek.

"Yeah but I have some stuff to do, so I just told them to meet me here." She said as she rubbed her arms and looked all around her.

Lucas eyed her curiously; "You're avoiding them."

"I—I am _not_ avoiding them. I told them to meet me here, didn't I?"

"Yes, but you're in your scrubs. You want a quick escape from them when you tell them about the baby." He said, immediately clocking on to Brooke's fears and reservations. He really could read her very well.

"I just—I don't want them to freak out." Brooke replied honestly. "Especially Harry, you know how protective he can be and how weird he can be about you."

Lucas furrowed his eyebrows; "He's weird about me?"

Brooke screwed up her face; "Of course he's weird about you, you dumped me in front of a whole bunch of people."

"And I'm so glad we're able to move past that…" he mumbled. "They will be happy for us Brooke, I promise." He said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed her head.

As they moved to walk on, Brooke suddenly stopped as Lucas turned to face her.

"What is it?" he asked when he saw the downtrodden look that graced her face.

"For a brief moment I panicked about how I was going to tell my dad." She said quietly. It was the easiest thing in the world to forget that he was no longer here. Lucas nodded softly. He knew this would come up at some point. He knew it would be hard for her to tell her family about the baby without Ted there.

Lucas rested his palm against her cheek and rubbed it softly with his thumb. "He would be happy for us too."

"I don't know, his little girl pregnant? I think he'd be freaked out." She said with a little chuckle. This was the guy who almost had a heart attack when Brooke got her ears pierced when she was 13.

"Brooke!" they heard from behind Lucas as he turned around and they saw Victoria, Harry and Matty walking towards them. Any fears Brooke had about telling her family disappeared in that moment as a huge smile broke out on her face and she rushed towards her mom.

"Mom" she said as she held her mother tightly. She had missed her hugs and the scent of her perfume and just _her._

"Oh honey, I've missed you so much!" Victoria said as she released Brooke from the hug and took her hands to get a good look at her. "Look at you, you're _glowing!"_

Brooke laughed awkwardly; "Yeah well, good facial cream…" she joked before turning to her brothers "Harry, Matty!" she greeted with the warmest smile on her face as she hugged her brothers simultaneously.

"The three musketeers reunited." Harrison joked.

"And ready to cause mischief no doubt." Brooke teased as Victoria sighed. She would expect mischief from Matty—but not from her two grown children. "Mom, you remember Lucas" Brooke said, remembering her boyfriend was still standing behind them.

"Of course, hi Lucas." Victoria said as warmly as she could, surprised to see him with Brooke.

"Dr. Davis." Lucas greeted, feeling the little bit of tension in the air.

"Lucas and I are dating again" Brooke blurted out unexpectedly, as everyone looked at her with wide eyes – even Lucas.

"You- you two? You're back together?" Matty asked, looking for some clarification. He may hav been making jokes about it but he wasn't _serious_.

"Yep…" Brooke said with a pop of her lips.

"… awesome!" Matty said as he clapped hands with Lucas who couldn't help but smile. He and Matty had always gotten on rather well.

"I uh—I did not expect this news" Victoria said with a little laugh. "I guess you should start calling me Victoria again if you're going to be dating my daughter."

Lucas nodded his head, acknowledging that that was all the support Victoria could muster right now.

"You can call me Dr. Davis though." Harrison joked as he shook Lucas's hand, much to Brooke's surprise. Harrison then winked at Brooke, as his way of saying he was glad they had worked things out. She wasn't really sure what to expect from her family, but this wasn't it. She expected her mother and Harrison to go off in one, but they were oddly subdued. Maybe they were more on board with Lucas than they'd let on.

At that moment, Bevin walked past and smiled when she saw Brooke. "Brooke, are you feeling better?"

"Oh yeah, much better, thank you." Brooke said as Bevin smiled and walked on.

Concern spread over Victoria's face; "You were sick?"

"No, no, not really—"

"What do mean not really? You're either sick or you're not…" Matty said as if that were obvious.

"Well—" Brooke said as she looked to Lucas for support. He nodded his head as he hand rested on the small of her back. "I'm actually—pregnant." Brooke revealed as all three of their mouths fell open and they froze entirely.

"Pregnant?" Harrison managed to muster out.

Brooke took in a breath before simply replying; "Yeah"

_"… woah."_ Matty muttered.

"About 8 weeks." Brooke revealed. She finally looked up at her mother and saw that her eyes were glistening with tears and the smallest most sincere smile graced her face. She watched as Lucas' hand drifted from her back to Brooke's shoulder and her daughter looked up and smiled at him ever so softly. In that one simple gesture, Victoria could see just how much they loved each other. It had been such a long time since she'd seen Brooke look at somebody that way. Despite everything that had happened – she really couldn't ask for more for her daughter. It was clear that this was meant to be.

Victoria's hand rested over her heart; "My baby's having a baby?"

Brooke allowed a smile to creep onto her face "Yeah. I am."

Victoria immediately walked forward and hugged Lucas and Brooke tightly.

"This is so exciting. Congratulations." She said so only they could hear.

"My little sister is having a baby…" Harrison mumbled before Victoria shot round and put her hands on her hips.

"Harrison, you need to keep in mind that Brooke is 30 now and I was significantly younger than that when you were born, she is a grown adult—" Victoria defended before Harrison stopped her with a smile.

"I'm going to be an uncle." He said happily as he hugged Brooke before shaking Lucas's hand again. "You are going to be the most amazing mom and Lucas—you'll be alright at the dad thing I guess." He teased.

Lucas chuckled; "Thanks Davis."

"I have a question." Matty piped up. "Does it feel weird? Having an alien growing inside of you?"

Brooke frowned deeply; "Matty, don't call me baby an alien!" she whined as she rested her hand across her stomach.

Matty held his hands up; "They look like aliens."

"_Matty!"_ Brooke whined again.

"Ok, no more calling Brooke's baby an alien." Victoria concluded.

"Also, can you not tell anyone yet about this? Especially in this hospital, things are a little sensitive at the minute—" Brooke said as she looked awkwardly at Lucas.

"With Peyton?" Harrison boldly asked. Truthfully, neither of them had really spoken to Peyton, but the room was always filled with tension if they were both working on the same patient in the ER. It was kind of unavoidable considering Peyton was a trauma attending.

"Yeah… I'd rather wait till things cool down a little before announcing this to the world." Brooke told them. She figured the gossip would be wild when this got out, so she wanted to keep it between them for as long as possible.

"You secret is safe with us." Victoria assured them with a wink.

"Ok. Now, we have to go down to day care so you can all see Maya, she is just _gorgeous_." Brooke said as she linked arms with her brothers and began walking through the hospital.

* * *

Despite the visit from her family, Kate had managed to rope Brooke in to helping with an old patient of Ted's. Her name was Alyssa Monroe. She had been admitted to the hospital almost 15 years ago and now she's back with the same recurring tumour invading her heart.

As Brooke stood in Alyssa's room looking through her charts, Alyssa was eyeing her curiously.

"You look familiar" Alyssa said as Brooke looked up.

"Sorry?"

"There's something familiar about your eyes."

Brooke nodded, realising that she had seen Ted in her eyes. "I uh—I have my dad's eyes and he was the guy Davis. Your previous doctor." Brooke explained with a small smile.

"Oh, you're_ Brooke_" Alyssa said happily.

Brooke looked at her curiously; "Yeah… how did you-?"

"Oh he was_ always_ talking about you and your brothers to me." Alyssa told her off handily as if it wasn't that big of a deal—but it was. It was a _huge_ deal. She'd barely had a relationship with her dad when he first got here and the fact that Alyssa even remembered him talking about them was remarkable.

"Oh. I didn't—I didn't think he spoke about us when he first got here." Brooke confessed quietly.

"Oh yeah. He basically worshipped the ground you guys walked. There was Harrison, the eldest, he was a bit of a bad boy, then the youngest Matty, he was a bundle of joy, and then you—Brooke. The golden girl. Apple of his eye." Alyssa said.

"That sounds about right." She heard Kate say as she walked into the room and Brooke playfully rolled her eyes.

"He was super proud of you guys. I'm sorry for your loss." Alyssa said sincerely.

Brooke nodded; "Thank you." She said. Not just for the condolences. But for her story. For telling her that her father was proud of them. So proud that he talked about them to a young patient of his. It was evident that he loved them more than anything on this earth.

* * *

Nathan stood at one of the nurses' stations when Lucas approached him and handed him his phone.

"What do you think about me buying a boat?" Lucas said as Nathan looked at the yacht that appeared on his screen.

"You're going to have a baby in 7 months Scott, the last thing you need is a _boat_." Nathan said truthfully. Why the hell did he want a boat?

Lucas sighed. For the past little while, he had felt that he needed something more in his life. He was always consumed his relationships and he felt like he needed his own thing, his own safe space for when he was feeling overwhelmed – whether that was a hobby or just a brand spanking new boat. Being a Scott and a hot shot plastic surgeon certainly had its financial perks.

"I need something new. The old is gone, this is a new chapter—" Lucas began rambling.

"Brooke's not exactly_ new_ though is she—" Nathan clapped back as Lucas rolled his eyes.

"New girlfriend, new baby, new _hobby_." He reasoned.

"A yacht isn't a hobby, it's a luxury." Nathan responded. "_Golf _is a hobby"

"Golfing doctors is such a cliché." Lucas grumbled as he took his phone from Nathan. "Brooke would kill me if I bought a boat. You know, Kirk always wanted me to try golf and Brooke loves Kirk so…" he reasoned.

"Just – don't buy a boat dude. Just golf. Or better yet – basketball" Nathan suggested.

"Basketball? Doesn't that require, you know, a team?" he reminded Nathan.

"I'll play with you, one on one, there's a court down by the river" Nathan said. "Fair warning though, I played in high school and I'm pretty good…"

"Fair warning – so did I." Lucas said returning his smirk. "And football, baseball, little bit of wrestling…"

"Ok Mr. Hotshot, don't you have some boobs to enhance or something?" Nathan sniped.

Lucas chuckled, "You're on for that one on one."

"Prepare to have your ass whipped!" he shouted after Lucas as the nurses looked at him funnily.

* * *

"I told my mom and brothers about the baby." Brooke confessed to Rachel and Haley as they sat in the canteen that afternoon for lunch

They both raised their eyebrows, "How did it go?" Haley asked.

"They took it better than I thought they would, especially considering I was dropping the I'm back with Lucas bomb on them at the same time. I was convinced Harry was going to punch Lucas, but they were actually really happy for me. I think they saw how happy I was and it just really put me at ease." Brooke explained, glad that things were going smoothly. Now, she only had to dread the rest of the hospital finding out. It wasn't exactly something she could keep a secret forever. "Though I am dreading the rest of the hospital finding out. In particular Peyton who will probably_ rip_ my heart out of my chest and I'd very much like it to stay there."

"She has no right to get mad." Rachel reasoned.

Brooke grimaced; "Rachel, I slept with her boyfriend—"

_"Ex-boyfriend,_ they were so beyond done when you got back together." Rachel reminded her. "You really need to get some perspective Brooke"

"Yeah, it's not like we pined after each other for like a year before that—" Brooke reminded them.

"I would hardly call Peyton and Lucas' relationship a relationship in the last year. Besides, you didn't actually do anything. You're allowed to be friends with whoever you want." Haley encouraged. "Sure, people will be all up your business about it. It's inevitable in this place. You just have to find a way to blank it out. There are plenty of people around here who have your back anyway."

"Though on the subject of Lucas, he was looking up boats last night—do you think he wants a boat to get away from me?" Brooke asked dramatically.

"I think he's realised just how much money he has sitting in the bank account and figured he may as well spend it on something extravagant." Rachel suggested.

"Or, he just wants something new in his life." Haley said, seeing a deeper meaning in everything. "New girlfriend, new baby—new boat." Haley said, repeating the words Nathan had told her Lucas had said.

"… that's what he told Nathan, isn't it?" Brooke asked as Haley nodded sheepishly. "I mean—I guess a boat could be pretty cool." Brooke said with a shrug, not entirely against the idea.

* * *

Lucas was walking down the hallway when he spotted Victoria standing at the other end, staring right at him. He cautiously walked towards her and greeted her.

"Hi Victoria—"

"You left my daughter for someone else." Victoria stated.

Lucas gulped; "uh—yes, yes, but I—"

"Then you left that someone else for my daughter." Victoria stated again.

Lucas wondered where this was going. "Actually, I left Peyton for myself—"

"Then you got my daughter pregnant."

Lucas soon realised that this wasn't a discussion. "… yes."

"You are a walking cautionary tale." Victoria said as she shook her head and crossed her arms. It was like she was taking the time to actually digest everything that Brooke had been through with Lucas, cause it almost didn't seem real.

"I mean—"

"Kirk Walker." Victoria interrupted again. "He loves Brooke like a daughter." Victoria and Kirk may not have always seen eye to eye, but when it came to her children, he always exercised good judgement in what was good for them. "And he is very fond of you."

Lucas nodded. He missed having Kirk around greatly. They still kept in touch and swore that one day they would complete some research together, but it wasn't quite the same being in plastics without the other half of the dynamic duo. "I'm very fond of him too." He said sincerely as Victoria's face softened.

"When he finds out about you two... he will be jumping for joy." He said with the smallest glint in her eye. "I like you Lucas. I think you're good for her. Just don't screw it up again." Victoria said as she walked on.

Lucas smiled; "Yes ma'am."

He was going to take that as her seal of approval.

* * *

That night, Brooke joined her mom and her brothers outside of the hospital at one the picnic tables. They used to do this in New York. The five of them would just sit down and debrief their days. It felt a little strange sitting here now without Ted.

"Man, I am exhausted." Brooke said as she sat beside Victoria. She'd been in a long surgery and in hindsight, realised it probably wasn't the best idea in the world, but she wasn't feeling in any mood to stop.

"You need to take it easy. No more clipping aneurysms for hours on end." Victoria told her.

"Oh, come on, Foster promised that the next one would be mine and I have a whole village of people looking out for me." Brooke assured her. The people in this hospital really were like family to her. "I do miss you guys though. All the time." She said quietly.

"Well there's always a home for you in New York…" Victoria said, desperate to all three of her kids back into the city.

"I never thought I would admit it but—Raleigh is the most at home I have ever felt. As much as I love New York—this is my place. This is where I belong." Brooke said sincerely.

"Does it get easier? Walking around this place without dad?" Matty asked. Even he had found it difficult being there for a day, he wasn't sure how Brooke did it.

"Not really. But uh… I treated a patient of his from years ago today. She said he spoke about us to her. How he was so proud of us. He did a lot of good work here. A lot of work that we should honour and continue. Dad will never really be gone. He lives on through us." Brooke said as they all smiled at her, knowing in their hearts, Ted Davis would never truly be gone.


	21. Cautious Optimism

**Hi everyone! So glad you've enjoyed the past few chapters. Things are moving FAST, but I feel like I dragged things out long enough... why not get into the good stuff?! **

**Currently trying to pick a name for baby Scott... I think I know what i'm going to go for... but it's HARD lol any suggestions for a boy or a girl are welcome! **

**This is a super long chapter because I couldn't decide where to split it - so just think of it as two chapters for the price of one!**

**Enjoy**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-One- Cautious Optimism**

"Hey" Lucas greeted Nathan as he joined him in one of the paediatric patient's rooms.

"Hey what's up?"

"Do you uh—do you think I should tell Peyton about the baby?" Lucas asked quietly. It had been weighing on his mind a lot for the past little while. The news still hadn't spread around the hospital, but he knew it was only a matter of time before people started talking and they would have to tell people. Lucas wondered if this was something Peyton should hear from him rather than from someone else.

"It might be a little rough for her to hear it from someone else, but at the same time a knife in the chest coming from you." Nathan said bluntly, helping Lucas weigh things up.

"Man this is complicated." Lucas said as he ran a hand down his face. "I want to be openly happy about this, I want to talk about it, it's annoying me that I can't just do it."

"Brooke's what? 14 weeks now? Soon enough, the bump will do all the talking."

"She's going to be hurt either way, huh" Lucas said with a sigh. They may not have been in a good place, but he was still sensitive to her feelings.

Nathan gave him a sympathetic look. "Yeah. It's going to hurt her."

No matter when it happened, it was going to hurt when Lucas or Peyton moved on. He just happened to be first, and it just happened to be quite soon. He just wished he didn't have to feel so anxious about welcoming his own child into the world.

At that moment Brooke walked in with a confused look on her face. "Hey, we're all hearing dogs, right? I'm not going crazy?" she asked.

"Once a month a rescue centre brings in some puppies for the kids. Boosts morale, and healing and crap." Nathan grumbled.

"Seriously? Man, I'm on paeds today…" Brooke groaned.

"You don't like dogs?" Nathan questioned.

"No, I love dogs, I just don't do dogs at _work_. It's bad enough having to deal with human bodily fluids, I don't need dog fluids on me too." Brooke justified as she scrunched up her nose and Lucas chuckled.

"Well you're probably going to need to get used to having bodily fluids over you that aren't your own, especially baby bodily fluids" Lucas reminded her as he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and left.

When Brooke was sure Lucas was gone, she turned to Nathan, using this opportunity to get advice from him too.

"Hey, I have a question about the baby and I'm a little nervous about talking to Lucas about it cause he's a little anxious about the whole thing anyway and about Peyton finding out—"

"What's up?" Nathan asked to stop her from rambling.

"I'm thinking about getting some tests done to make sure everything is ok with the baby." Brooke asked cautiously. "My family has a history of genetic defects and I just want to make sure everything's ok. Do you think it's a good idea?"

"Yeah. I think it is. The earlier you discover these things the better. But you need to talk to Lucas about it first. You've got to make these decisions together." Nathan wisely advised.

Brooke knew Nathan was right, but she didn't know how to approach it. She almost felt like she would be bursting their happy bubble, but she also felt like there was no harm in being sensible and cautious about the pregnancy.

"Yeah, you're right… man, being in a relationship is hard work huh?" Brooke joked as Nathan chuckled.

"Imagine actually having to properly communicate with someone else, it's almost as if we were adults…" he joked back as Brooke playfully rolled her eyes and left the room.

* * *

Brooke left the bathroom after trying to scrub the dog urine off her hands and soon spotted Lucas at one of the nurse's stations. She took a breath and approached him, realising it was best to just speak to him. She shouldn't be afraid to speak to him. She knew he would be understanding about this, she just didn't want to panic him and make him think something was wrong when it wasn't.

"Hey, can I talk to you about something?" she asked as she lent on the desk.

"Yeah, what's up?" he asked as he put his tablet down and looked at her.

"I—"

"You _bitch!"_ Brooke heard behind her as she turned around.

_Slap. _

Peyton palm connected with Brooke's cheek as everyone around them fell silent.

Lucas quickly reacted; "Peyton!" he shouted as he pulled Brooke back.

Peyton pointed vehemently at Brooke; "You're pregnant. _Pregnant!"_

Peyton—" Brooke began, wanting to speak rationally about this.

"Tell me honestly, did you sleep together while we were still together? Why am I even asking that, of_ course_ you did and now you're having a baby? _God!_ You are a _liar_ Lucas." Peyton said, now directing her anger at Lucas.

"We didn't sleep together while we were still together, we only started something afterwards –" Lucas informed her. It was the truth. They hadn't done anything.

"Like that changes the fact you still wanted her!"

"Peyton, this isn't you—" Lucas said, knowing that it was so unlike Peyton to lose her head like this, he understood why she was upset, but this was too far. She was causing such a scene.

"I never want to see either of you again you—you pieces of _shit_." Peyton spat.

Brooke reached out to her; "Peyton—"

"Don't _you dare_ touch me."

Brooke sighed. She had been slapped and called a piece of shit—there was no reasoning with her. Maybe some home truths would make her calm down.

"Peyton, you have no right to be mad. A little sad maybe. But mad_? No._ You're the one who walked away. _You're_ the one who pushed Lucas to move on._ You_ were too late. You can't punish us for _your _mistakes." Brooke said honestly. She looked down at her feet, not wanting to get angry with her. She understood Peyton's emotions right now— she'd lost Lucas once herself, but she wasn't going to let her make her feel bad for bringing a life into this world.

"This baby is happening." Brooke said quietly. "And he or she is going to be incredibly loved because they deserve nothing less than that. I am sorry for the pain that you are in… but this is not the way to deal with it."

Brooke looked around her and saw that everyone was staring. She let out a breath and ran a hand across her forehead, before walking away from everyone, to take a moment to breathe.

* * *

Brooke walked into the bathroom to inspect the red mark she knew was on her cheek and stopped in her tracks when she saw Kate—doing jumping jacks by the sinks.

"… why?" Brooke simply asked.

"Got to wake up, just got called in to do a triple organ transplant." Kate explained as Brooke nodded and closed the door behind her. "Why is your face all red?" Kate asked with a furrowed eyebrow as Brooke looked in the mirror and grimaced.

"Sawyer slapped me."

Kate stopped her jumping jacks and looked at her; "Why?"

"… she found out I'm pregnant." Brooke said cautiously as Kate's eyes widened.

"You're pregnant?"

"yeah…"

"When were you doing to tell me?!" Kate said, completely taken aback by this news.

"When the waters were a little calmer around here, though I'm starting to sense I would have given birth and raised the kid before that happened." Brooke confessed as she leaned against the sink.

"You're pregnant. And Sawyer slapped you. She can't do that. She can't slap a pregnant woman. All personal feelings aside. I'm going to slap_ her_." Kate said, getting out her thought process.

"Kate—"

"Brooke, you are my family, I protect my family, Ted would be rolling in his grave if I let this slide!"

Brooke smiled softly. She couldn't quite believe that Kate was defending her so fiercely.

"Kate, I promise you, I am fine." She insisted. "I stood up for myself, I said what I needed to say. Honestly, I'm kind of glad it's out there, it's like a weight lifted off my shoulders, I can actually start preparing myself for this." She confessed.

Kate calmed down and smiled widely at her; "You're having a baby"

Brooke chuckled; "Yeah"

"A Davis-Scott baby." Kate said with wide eyes. "That baby is going to have like special powers or something."

Brooke laughed; "Oh probably…" she joked along.

"Come here" Kate said as she hugged her step daughter tightly. Kate knew Ted would just be completely over joyed for her right now. "Congratulations Brooke" she said quietly.

"Thank you. So uh, any word from Danvers?" Brooke asked, knowing that Kate had given her number to a doctor she met a few days ago.

"Actually… we have a thing. Tomorrow night. Drinks."

Brooke gave her a lopsided smirk; "getting back on the horse huh? Well Danvers is a hot horse, I'll give you that." she said with a wink.

"_No one_ is getting on a horse. It is going to be weird." Kate confessed. She really wasn't sure how she felt about the whole thing.

"At first it will be a little weird, but not bad weird and Kate this is a good thing. Getting back out there—it will be good." Brooke insisted. She didn't want Kate to be afraid to put herself out there for the rest of her life. "I can't believe I'm encouraging this, now that's something that would cause my dad to roll over in his grave." Brooke joked as Kate rolled her eyes and they left the bathroom to get back to the real world.

* * *

Shortly after Brooke had disappeared, Peyton too made a quick escape, but Lucas was quickly storming through the hospital corridors looking for her. It didn't take long to find her in the ER as he quickly walked over to her. As soon as Peyton spotted him however, she was quick to get the first word in before he could berate her.

"Were you ever going to tell me?" she asked.

"Yes, I was going to tell you today actually—"

"I can't believe you would do this to me—"

"We haven't been together for over a year, we've been broken up for 5 months. I haven't done _anything_ to you. And where do you get off thinking you can slap Brooke? She's pregnant for God's sake!"

"Oh don't I know it! That is like a knife to the chest Lucas, how could you?" Peyton pleaded.

Lucas tightened his jaw, feeling is anger bubble inside. "You're seriously mad at me for moving on? You wanted me to sit around and pine after you? How heartless can you get Peyton?" he asked as Peyton looked to her feet and bit her lip to contain her emotions. "I know you're hurt, I understand that, but this baby—it's _innocent_ in all of this. A baby is a wonderful thing and I'm not going to apologise for that baby not being yours. I'm not going to apologise for falling in love with someone who was able to love me back." He said honestly as they soon realised the rest of the ER had fallen silent.

Lucas looked up and saw Brooke standing a little distance away from them. She looked to the ground before turning and walking away. She made her way into an empty room to take a moment to herself, but Haley was on her tail, seeing that she was upset.

"Brooke" she said as she turned around and looked at him, her eyes glistening with tears.

"I guess it's out there now." Brooke mumbled, knowing that the whole of hospital would have heard of both incidences.

"Yeah. It is."

"I know it's messy. God, I know. I didn't plan for this to happen. Having a baby is something I want to be happy about but I feel—I feel_ awful_ and I know Lucas does too. I shouldn't feel guilty about this—but I do." Brooke confessed.

Haley rested her hands on Brooke's arms. "You couldn't help that you fell in love Brooke. You couldn't help that you were blessed with this miracle. Cause that's what this baby is. A blessing, a miracle. Don't let her take away from your joy."

Brooke nodded as she allowed the tears to fall down her face. Haley quickly pulled Brooke into a tight hug to try and comfort her, but she figured the only person who could really make this better was Lucas.

The door behind them open and they broke apart to see him standing sheepishly in the frame.

"I'll leave you too to talk." Haley said quietly as she smiled softly at Brooke before leaving the room.

"Hey" Brooke said quietly as she dried the last of her tears.

"Hey. Are you ok?" he asked as he walked closer towards her.

"I'm fine—"

"Let me see your cheek" he said as he ran his thumb over it.

"It's fine Lucas—"

"She was so out of line… maybe you should hit her with a gurney." He joked lightly as Brooke smirked and rolled her eyes, thinking back to when she accidentally hit Lucas with one.

_"Funny._ Lucas—I know things are messy between you and Peyton and I'm sorry if I've made that more difficult for you because I know you wanted to have her back as a friend—"

"No, no you haven't caused any difficulty for me. Peyton was the one who flipped a switch." Lucas said as he ran his hands up and down her arms. "I wouldn't take us back for anything. We're here and we're in love and we're having a baby and that is an amazing thing." Lucas reminded her.

"Before everything went down, I uh—I wanted to talk to you about something. I was talking to Nathan about getting some genetic testing done." She told him.

Lucas nodded. "Ok"

"I know it's a heavy subject and maybe it's something you're not ready to talk about but—"

"No, no you're right to bring it up. We should get the tests. It's better to know early." He agreed. Things may have been a little emotional right now but that didn't mean they couldn't be sensible.

Brooke nodded. "I'll set up an appointment."

Lucas lent forward and rested his forehead against Brooke's.

"I know you take the weight of the world onto your shoulders Brooke, but you don't have to do that anymore. I am here. I will always be here and you will never have to take on anything on your own. It's you and me. _Always."_

"Always." Brooke repeated.

Lucas let himself smile softly; "let's be happy Brooke. Let's not live in worry or fear."

"Ok"

Lucas bent down and kissed her with great love and care. She was his forever, no matter what came their way.

* * *

"I think she knows" Lucas whispered cryptically into Brooke's ear a few weeks later, causing her to jump slightly.

"Who knows what?" she asked.

"I think my mother knows about the baby." He said as Brooke's eyes widened. In the midst of all the chaos, Lucas managed to forget to tell the other most important woman in his life – _his mother_. He had wondered who spilled the beans – he had a funny feeling it was Victoria. It was definitely the sort of thing she would bring up on their occasional phone calls thinking she knew.

"I can't believe _you_ didn't tell her. I thought she liked me, I don't see what the issue is." Brooke said. "And… it was totally my mother who spilled, I would place _money_ on it." Brooke said as Lucas nodded his head in agreement.

"First of all, that's what I thought, second of all, she _does_ like you Brooke." Lucas responded. Truth was, despite their rocky start, Karen was a big fan of Brooke's. She had always been convinced that they would end up together—even after the whole Peyton debacle. "It's just—it's all been a little messy and now she's going to be mad at me for not telling her right away."

"It will be fine Lucas, I promise." Brooke said as she lightly kissed his cheek and walked over to the nurse's station. When she got there, she suddenly turned back, remembering she had to ask Lucas for a consult, but when she turned she noticed he had started to talking to a pretty scrub nurse whom she hadn't seen before. She felt the jealousy rise in a little, but more than that – she started to really _crave_ him.

Rachel soon approached her; "Hey, when's your ultrasound?" she asked, knowing they were going for one today. All their tests had come back fine, so this was just a precautionary screening.

"This afternoon" Brooke said as she continued to stare at Lucas, her leg shaking.

"Why are you so jittery?" Rachel asked.

"Lucas is really hot. Isn't he hot?" Brooke asked. The navy scrubs really made his eyes pop and Brooke was amazed that she actually knew someone who could pull scrubs off.

Rachel raised her eyebrows; "Uh—"

"Our baby is going to be _so_ beautiful. Who's the girl?" Brooke asked, as Lucas laughed at something the nurse said.

"Oh, that's Emily, she's the new scrub nurse in plastics." Rachel explained as Brooke narrowed her eyes.

"Hm…"

Rachel soon caught on that Brooke was feeling a little horny and a little jealous—and it was a deadly combo. She chuckled; "Brooke, remember, you are not the jealous type—"

"Yeah, there's nothing to be jealous about. They spend super long surgeries together and now they're laughing. No big deal." Brooke said as she started to walk towards them.

"Brooke—"

"I have a lot of hormones…" Brooke mouthed to Rachel before turned back around and coming face to face with Lucas and Emily. "Hey!" she greeted happily.

"Hey Brooke, this is Emily our new scrub nurse."

"Hi" Brooke greeted pleasantly as she shook Emily's hand before turning to Lucas; "Could I borrow you for a second?"

"Sure…" he said as Brooke grabbed his hand and pulled him along to one of the on call rooms.

"What's up?" Lucas asked as he closed the door and Brooke pushed Lucas against it, kissing him passionately as her hands held onto his face and his hands roamed around her hips.

She pulled away briefly as their noses grazed and identical smirks formed on their faces.

"What was that for?" Lucas asked as Brooke quickly got rid of his shirt.

"You're really hot. Like _really hot_ and I am _really horny_. Emily was getting flirty. I need you, _now."_ She said as she turned them around and pulled Lucas onto the bed with her.

Lucas smirked; "These baby hormones are _amazing_…"

Just as Brooke was about to remove her shirt, the door swung open and their eyes widened—when they saw an unimpressed Karen Scott standing in the door frame.

"My goodness, we are getting ourselves into an interesting little habit here." Karen said, referring to the almost identical situation she caught them in the first time they met.

"Mom"

"Dr. Scott, hi" Brooke said as she pushed Lucas off her, stood up and desperately tried to fix herself while Lucas quickly lifted his shirt and put it back on.

"Brooke. It's wonderful to see you." Karen said sincerely. "You know it is so cold and sleeting back east, it's just dreadful." Brooke and Lucas eyed her curiously. That was really all she had to say?

"So… you came to Raleigh for some sun?" Lucas asked. This definitely _wasn't_ the place for sun.

"I came to Raleigh for _my_ son. I believe you two have something to share with me?" Karen asked with raised eyebrows and arms folded.

Brooke and Lucas shifted awkwardly in their positions as Lucas rubbed the back of his neck; "Yeah, uh - mom - you're going to be a grandmother." He said happily as Brooke smiled too.

"_I know."_ Karen simply replied. Was that it? _I know_? Where were the questions? Where was the shouting? Where was the meddling?

"What are you doing?" Lucas asked, knowing that something wasn't quite right here.

Karen shrugged; "What do you mean what am I doing?"

"You're not trying to meddle. Why aren't you trying to meddle?" he asked as he folded his arms, meeting her detached stance.

"Oh Lucas, I believe you went through two break ups without me meddling." Karen reminded him abruptly, as Brooke just wanted to jump into a hole at this stage. "and despite what you may think—I am _very_ happy for you two." She said with the softest of smiles before leaving the room.

Brooke and Lucas looked at each other, not sure what to make of that little interaction.

"I'm not going to lie—I have _no_ idea what she really thinks about this." Brooke replied.

"Yeah, first she's all passive aggressive and then the next thing she's saying she's happy?" Lucas questioned. Also entirely unsure of his mother's position on the whole thing.

"Well this is going to be an interesting day."

* * *

Later that afternoon, Brooke walked into the resident's lounge and immediately sat down at the table. She was exhausted after her surgery. This being pregnant thing was a _killer_ when it came to even three-hour surgeries. Though she wasn't sure she could ever admit that.

"When I was pregnant with Lucas and Lily a three-hour surgery felt like _twelve_." She heard Karen confess as she turned around and saw her walk into the lounge.

Brooke gave her a tight-lipped smile; "I'm trying not to let it show."

"Well you look good to me. Sometimes my feet were so swollen, I was physically unable to take my sneakers off. A few times I slept in the damn things." Karen said with a laugh as she sat opposite her. "How many weeks are you now?"

"14" Brooke replied.

"Morning sickness?"

"A little at the start, but not a lot. I've been pretty lucky."

"You are lucky, I couldn't_ stop_ being sick, with both Lucas and Lily. I thought I was coming down with the stomach flu or something. You'd think as a doctor I would be more in tune with what was going on with me, but no… it's true what they say – doctors really do make the worst patients. We're so reluctant to diagnose ourselves." Karen confessed. "I was pretty shocked when I found out."

Brooke was pleasantly surprised by Karen's honesty in this moment. It was like she was talking to a friend, and not a mother-in-law she was terrified of.

"Yeah, its uh—it's definitely startling. Lucas and I opened the test results together and it was just—the craziest feeling." Brooke said with a warm smile that Karen returned. Since they were being honest, Brooke decided to go further; "Karen, I know this probably isn't the life you pictured for your son but—I'm crazy about him and I am so excited to have this life with him"

Karen reached across the table and held Brooke's hands in hers; "Brooke, I know I've never been easy on you, but it's because I just saw so much _potential_ in you. You are full of passion and love and what more could I want for my son? Truth be told, I think you two were always meant to be together. Lucas just hadn't seen things through with Peyton, and he needed to do that in order to see _you _on the other side. I'm happy for you two and I am so excited to be a grandmother."

Brooke could have sworn she saw Karen's eyes glisten with tears of joy and she felt the emotions bubble inside herself too. "I'm really glad."

Brooke felt her smile fade as a wave of nausea came over her.

"Are you ok honey? You look a little pale?" Karen asked.

"Yeah, I don't—I don't feel so good—" Brooke said as she tried to stand up—but then everything went black.

* * *

Rachel walked down the hallways of the hospital on her way to check in on a patient when Lucas turned the corner in her direction. She smirked at him and crossed her arms; "How did you manage to escape the horny hands of Brooke Davis?"

Lucas chuckled; "Even a horny Brooke knows that as surgeons, we have to perform surgeries."

"I see…"

"I think I'm going to like this pregnancy thing…" Lucas said with a smirk.

"Yeah, just wait till she hits the 8 month mark and she's complaining about not being able to see her feet - you won't be saying that. Don't forget about her sonogram later." Rachel warned.

"I won't—"

"I'm just checking, you'll probably end up scheduling a surgery by accident—"

"Why would I do that? You're an annoying best friend." Lucas said with a pout.

Rachel shrugged; "That's my job."

Lucas's phone beeped as he looked at it and his face fell.

"What's wrong?" Rachel asked, seeing the worry spread across his face.

"I gotta go." Lucas said as he quickly rushed away from her.

* * *

Lucas paced the OB's exam room while Brooke lay in the bed. She had come around from when she passed out, but she still felt nauseous.

"Lucas, would you stop pacing?" Brooke begged.

"You passed out Brooke, that's something to pace about."

"Everything is fine, I was just a little dehydrated!"

"I'll wait for Dr. Johnson's verdict." He said, referring to Brooke's OB.

Brooke rolled her eyes and slumped back on the exam chair. He was overreacting. Everything was _fine._

"You need to stay away from surgery, standing on your feet all day is not good for you." Lucas advised.

"Yeah, that's not happening—" She was a surgeon, she _had_ to perform surgeries, she _wanted_ to perform surgeries.

"You've been sticking with neuro recently and the surgeries are long, you can't be on your feet for that length of time—"

"You are over reacting Lucas, _I'm fine!" _she said,_ again_, growing more and more frustrated.

"I'm being cautious. You can come into my surgeries, but you're sitting every half hour—"

"Lucas, _stop!"_

Before their disagreement could develop any further, Dr. Johnson walked into the room with Brooke's test results. Brooke insisted that a normal OB would be fine, but Lucas wanted her to have the best, and Johnson was the best.

"Dr. Johnson, can you _please_ tell Lucas that I'm_ fine_ and he can stop being a control freak?"

"I wish I could Brooke—"

Brooke's face fell and Lucas immediately stopped pacing as the mood in the room shifted. "What? What's wrong?"

"You have placenta previa. Obviously, it's too soon to be getting alarmed. You're only 14 weeks and it could rectify itself before the baby is ready to be born. Do you need me to go over the risks?" Johnson asked as Brooke looked down at her hands.

"I know what it means." She mumbled.

"You need to be really careful Brooke. Nothing strenuous. I'm going to have to put you on pelvic rest." Johnson told her.

"So no more vaginal exams… or sex" Brooke confirmed as Lucas's head shot up.

_"Sex?_" he asked with a gulp.

"Yep" Johnson confirmed.

"That—that's ok. 6 months is fine." Lucas said with a shrug.

"You say that _now_…" Brooke grumbled, knowing this was going to frustrate him (and admittedly her too, they could hardly keep their hands off each other most days).

"No long surgeries, no lifting anything heavy—basically the only thing you can do around here is typical clinic duties. Minimal activity. Nothing that can make you stressed. Just think of the beautiful baby you'll have at the end of it. Now, to put your mind to rest, we will do an ultrasound, because other than that your baby should be just fine." Johnson told them as he quickly set up for the exam.

He put the gel on Brooke's barely there bump before moving the probe around it and turning the volume up. Soon the sound of the baby's fast beating heart filled the room and their fears and concerns disappeared in that moment.

"Wow" Lucas said as they watched their baby on the screen.

"Yeah. _Wow."_ Brooke repeated, feeling immense joy and love.

* * *

A short while later, Brooke and Lucas were sitting in one of the on-call rooms taking a moment to themselves to consider what all this meant. While Brooke was entirely unhappy about having to sit around all day, she knew it would be more than worth it in the end.

"I had a really nice chat with your mom earlier." Brooke told Lucas as he raised his eyebrows.

"Nice? _Really?"_ he asked. He had expected her to be cold and stand-offish about the whole thing, but evidently he had been unfair. It seem that both Brooke and Lucas' families were more supportive about everything than they had anticipated.

"Yeah, she was really supportive."

"She's always had a soft spot for you, even if she didn't want to admit it." Lucas said with a little laugh.

They fell into a comfortable silence for a moment, before Brooke quietly spoke up. "I'm really sorry."

"For what?" Lucas asked confused.

Brooke shrugged; "Having placenta previa I guess."

"Why are you sorry for that? It's not your fault—"

"I know, I know it's just—we were in such a happy little bubble and I didn't want anything to ruin that. I just feel like it's always been one thing after another with us and I want to be able to _enjoy_ this with you.

Lucas held tightly onto her hand; "Brooke. The baby is fine, you are fine. This is a very manageable condition. We can enjoy this, we can still be in our little bubble…" he said as she scoffed and rested her head on his shoulder. Lucas lightly kissed her head before resting his cheek against it. "Everything is going to be just fine."

* * *

Brooke and Lucas soon got changed out of their scrubs and were leaving the hospital when they ran into Karen.

"I'm glad I bumped into you two." Karen said. She'd been in surgery all day at the request of the chief and had barely had time to speak to them following Brooke's collapse. "I was just going to head out for some dinner, will you join me?"

Lucas put his arm around Brooke's shoulders; "It's been a rough day, I think we're just going to head home and get some rest."

"Make sure he treats you like a Queen tonight Brooke." Karen said with a wink.

Brooke smirked; "Oh I will."

"And if you need anything. Please call me." Karen insisted.

"Thank you, Dr. Scott."

"Please. Call me Karen."

* * *

"Question." Karen stated as she caught up with Lucas in the corridor the following morning.

"Here we go…" Lucas grumbled.

"When are you and Brooke planning on moving in together?"

"Um… we haven't talked about." Lucas said. In all honesty, it wasn't something that had ever crossed their minds. Probably part of being in the bubble that had them avoiding reality.

"Oh Lucas, you really should! This is an important thing."

"I mean—we basically spend every night together anyway, it just hasn't crossed our minds to make it official." Lucas added. He was rarely in his condo anymore, he guessed it would make sense to move in officially, but he didn't want to rock the boat.

"Speaking off official, do you think you two will get married—"

_"Mom."_ Lucas said as he stopped and turned to face her. "You need to take a breather, we haven't been back together that long—"

"I know, I know, but you know what they say. Happy mom, happy dad, _happy baby_." Karen advised.

Lucas rested his hand on Karen's arm; "We _are_ happy mom."

"Maybe you haven't thought about it, but did it ever cross you mind that Brooke has?" Karen asked as Lucas fell silent. Brooke wasn't exactly the quiet type, so he had just assumed that moving in together and marriage wasn't something that was on her mind right now—right?

"Just—something to think about." Karen said as she patted his shoulder and walked on.

* * *

Brooke stood in the scrub room getting ready for surgery when Kate walked in and immediately shook her head.

"No." Kate said.

"No, what?" Brooke asked as she turned the tap off.

"No, you are not going in there."

"Why not?!"

"This could be a long surgery, you have a serious condition, you were told minimal activity, I would prefer it if you and my quasi grandchild to remain perfectly healthy." Kate said sternly.

Brooke raised her eyebrow; "Quasi? I might consider that as a first name." she said with a smirk.

"_Brooke."_ Kate said in a warning tone.

Brooke sighed; "I'm fine Kate!"

"You _collapsed _Brooke. We're all worried about you, because you don't seem to be worried enough—"

"Of_ course_ I am worried Kate, I'm freakin _terrified_! But I am also a doctor and I know what my body can and can't handle. Do you seriously think I would put my baby at risk?" Brooke snapped. She wasn't an idiot and she didn't appreciate people treating her like she would break at any second.

"Of course not—"

"I'm not going to stop doing what I love. You know what, I'm going to scrub in with Lucas later—" Brooke said as she opened the door and left, leaving Kate sighing about how that conversation went so wrong so fast.

* * *

Brooke sat at one of the nurse's station eating her way through a bag of potato chips when Rachel walked round the corner with a smile on her face and sat opposite her.

"This day is already getting on my nerves." Brooke grumbled.

"I rounded on both Grant and Piper's services, I finished their post ops notes, my beautiful, genius brain, is on_ fire_." Rachel informed her happily.

"My beautiful, genius brain is not being used because apparently the fact that my body is housing another human, is a deterrent." Brooke said with a sigh.

"Everyone's just looking out for you Brooke." Rachel reminded her.

"I know" Brooke said. She was incredibly grateful to be surrounded by people who cared for her so much, but she was also a Davis and Davis' were stubborn as _hell_. She didn't want to stop doing what she loved. "I also haven't had sex in 4 days."

"I had sex this morning." Rachel said with a smirk as Brooke glared right at her. "What? I thought we were sharing?"

"Not if it makes me feel_ worse."_ Brooke said through her teeth as she snatched potato chips away and stood up.

"I'm sorry!" Rachel shouted after her with a chuckle.

"Yeah, ok." Brooke said with an eye roll as she walked away

* * *

That night, Brooke glared at Lucas as he sat enjoying a beer in Tric. Sure, her OJ was nice, but what she really wanted right about now was _tequila_. Lucas did a double take when he realised she was glaring at him.

"What?"

"_No _sex. _No_ beer. _No_ tequila." She said through her teeth as her eyes narrowed.

Lucas raised his eyebrows; "And that's_ my_ fault?"

"It's your_ sperm's_ fault." She snapped.

"Brooke—"

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to be grouchy…" she said, Lucas smirked, knowing that her apology wasn't going to stop anything. He didn't mind though. He understood that it was frustrating for her.

"You know, I was thinking—"

"Never a good sign" Brooke joked.

"Well I'm glad that even if your sense of decency has disappeared your sense of humour _hasn't."_ he teased.

"Ha, ha, very funny…" Brooke responded. "What were you thinking about?"

"Are we—are we going to live together when the baby's born?" he asked cautiously.

"I uh—I honestly haven't really thought about it. Things have been a little crazy the past couple of weeks." Brooke said as Lucas chuckled.

"That's an understatement."

"I'm not saying that we never will live together, but I don't think we need to think about that right now." Brooke replied honestly. "We're in a good place, we don't need the added stress—but it's definitely a conversation for another day."

"That sounds like a fair deal to me." He replied with a smile. They both liked having their own space right now and if Brooke was entirely honest, she wasn't quite sure that she was ready to leave Kate and Rachel just yet.

Brooke turned to the door when she saw it open and watched as Kate walked through and sat at the opposite end of the bar. Brooke had been thinking that she was probably a little harsh with her earlier. She was just looking out for her after all.

"I'm going to talk to Kate, I'll be right back." She said as she slid off the stool and walked over to the bar where Kate was sitting.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier." Brooke said immediately as Kate turned to look at her.

"I'm sorry too. I was out of line." Kate confessed. "I uh- I remember when Ted told me Julian was going to propose to you. He said that it was hard for him, because one moment you were his little girl, running around the house butt naked and the next thing getting married. You grew up in the blink of an eye and he couldn't help but feel like he missed it all. And now… you're having a baby. Now that he's gone… I feel like I've taken on those worries for him. I feel this need to protect you for him." She told her.

Brooke nodded. "I understand… You know, I don't remember the last time I was scared. Every bad thing that has happened to me—I felt like I was in a bubble the whole time. I didn't feel anything or maybe I did at the time, but it was just so surreal that I don't remember what I felt. I don't remember what scared feels like. Until now."

"You've been through more in the first 30 years of life than most people will ever go through in their whole lives. You have every right to be scared. Especially now because this is the fear of the unknown. But you can't let that stop you Brooke. You were right. Just forget for a second that you have placenta previa. You're having a _baby._ That's a magical gift. You have to allow yourself to be happy and excited. It won't cost you _a damn thing_."

* * *

**Next chapter - Brooke and Lucas get creative Lily makes a visit to Raleigh and Lucas, Brooke, Nathan and Rachel find themselves in a dangerous situation that ends disastrously...**


	22. Monumental Heights

**Chapter Twenty-Two – Monumental Heights **

6 weeks later, Rachel and Brooke were walking through the hospital corridors. Brooke hadn't taken her eyes off her phone all morning, but Rachel was too preoccupied to ask why. They were in their final year of residency and people were beginning to fall at the last hurdle. The pressure of fellowships and board exams were getting to them and four people in their year had been either booted off the course or had dramatically quit.

Brooke's phone beeped as Brooke's eyes widened in surprise "Oh my _god_…"

"What?"

"Nothing." Brooke quickly said as she smirked and began typing a reply.

"Everyone's leaving Brooke." Rachel said sadly. "They're all fading, imagine going through 4 years of residency only to drop out now. This is also bad news for us, they're going to work us to death because they're short staffed and we are going to be the next ones to fall."

"Rachel, think about it. We are going to get _all_ the surgeries." Brooke said with a smirk, finally looking up from her phone. "I mean, I feel bad that all these people are having to leave, but we're going to run this place." She said happily. It was in a surgeon's DNA to want to be in control of everything. Her phone beeped again as she looked down at it and her mouth fell open. _"Holy—"_

"What is going on?" Rachel asked exacerbated as she snatched the phone from Brooke's hand.

Brooke quickly tried to take it back, but Rachel stopped her.

"_Hey!_ Rachel, you do not want to—"

"Oh my god. You're _sexting_ Lucas?!" Rachel asked as her eyes widened at the texts. "What are you? 15 years old?"

"We can't have sex right now so—we're—finding _alternative_ methods to keep the spark alive…" Brooke reminded her. It had been over a month of nothing and it was both starting to get to them. They were both physical people and to not be able to use it to express how they felt was _hard. _There were certain things they could do, but it just wasn't the same.

Rachel laughed; "That is so _dirty."_ She said as she kept scrolling.

Brooke snatched the phone back and sighed; "I know… I call my mother on this thing." She said, almost a little ashamed at her antics.

* * *

"I can't do it Lucas. I can't go on bed rest." Brooke said she sat down beside him in the lab while he worked.

"No one is saying you're going on bed rest." Lucas reminded her as he looked through his microscope.

"I know that's what Johnson is going to tell me when we go in there and I can't do it. Doing nothing is _torture."_ Brooke had another ultrasound today and to say she was nervous would be an understatement. She just wanted to get back into the OR before she was really too _big_ to be in the OR.

Lucas sighed; "You are so stubborn, if you do end up on bed rest, I'm going to need to get someone to watch you—"

"I am not 5 years old Scott." Brooke said with a glare.

"Then stop acting like it."

_"Asshole…"  
_  
Lucas finally looked up from his work and at her; "I'm an asshole who loves you and our baby. Please listen to me and everyone else who is telling you the same thing. Even if you do end up on bed rest, you won't be alone all day. I'll get a list of people to come visit you, plus, all the boxsets of your favourite TV shows." he said persuasively as he kissed her jaw.

Brooke thought about it for a moment; "… maybe it wouldn't be _so_ bad…"

Lucas chuckled, sitting back in his stool "No it wouldn't."

"But I can't afford to fall behind in this program—"

"You're already miles ahead of the other residents, you'll be ok, and this is completely hypothetical! You're_ not_ going on bedrest." He said confidently. He hoped for his own sanity that she wouldn't be in all honesty.

"Ok…" Brooke finally conceded. It wasn't doing her any good to assume the worst before it had even happened. She let a smile grace her face; "It's going to be pretty awesome when our baby gets here, huh?"

"Oh yeah. Incredibly awesome. You know what else will be awesome?" he said as he leant over and whispered in her ear.

Brooke's mouth fell open into a smiling shock as he whispered the naughty words into her ear; "You watch your mouth Scott." She said with a laugh.

"_Count on it."_

* * *

After lunch, Brooke made her way into the resident's lounge and was immediately greeted by Rachel.

"Hey, how's the sexting going? Filthy as ever?" she asked with a smirk as Brooke simply handed her the phone. She would no doubt snatch it out of her hand anyway. "Damn… and _creative."_

"I know I've got to step up my game… though, I have an ultrasound later, so it could go really well and this sexting business will be over, or it could go terribly and I'll be stuck in a bed for the foreseeable future." Brooke informed her.

"You've been up on your feet this whole time, if you were going to be on bed rest you would already be on bed rest." Rachel replied.

"I guess… though a part of me also doesn't want to give this up…" she said as she wiggled her eyebrows and smirked.

Her phone began buzzing incessantly as Rachel handed it back to her.

"Wow, Lucas is chatty today…"

"No, it's Kate, she wants the labs back on—oh no. _No, no, no, no, no!" _Brooke exclaimed as horror fell over her face.

"What?"

"I just sent something_ very_ filthy to Kate Grant." Brooke said quickly.

Rachel's eyes widened, "Oh crap, undo!"

"There's no undo!"

"Do something!"

_"I can't!"_ Brooke shouted as she quickly rushed out of the room to find Kate and do some damage control.

* * *

Brooke soon found Kate standing outside one of the patient's room and cautiously walked towards her.

"There you are" Kate greeted, she'd been looking for Brooke everywhere so they could round on their latest patient.

"I know. Kate, I am so, _so_ sorry—"

"You should be. Did you get Melissa's labs?" she asked, apparently oblivious to why Brooke was so apologetic.

Brooke eyed her quizzically; "Kate…"

"What?" Kate asked as she took the tablet from Brooke.

"Nothing… or… thanks? You're taking this well..." Brooke rambled as they walked into their patient's room. How could she be so calm about what she had sent her? Stern, straight Kate Grant wasn't batting an eyelash at an incredibly dirty text.

"Good morning Melissa,. This is Dr. Davis. She will be assisting me in surgery this afternoon." Kate introduced as Brooke said hello.

"Could you hand me my purse? I think my hairbrush is in there." Melissa said, just as Brooke was about to explain the procedure to her.

"Uh, sure." Brooke said as she handed her purse. "You trying to look good for surgery?"

"Graham is coming today." Melissa said happily.

"Oh, great!" Kate replied with a smile.

"Graham?" Brooke asked as she looked between Kate and Melissa.

"My boyfriend. Sort of. I'm finally meeting him today and I look like this…" she said with an awkward laugh.

"You haven't met your boyfriend?" Brooke asked with raised eyebrows.

"We met online a year ago and it's been the most amazing year. Only over messages. Then I told him about my surgery and he insisted on finally coming to see me" Melissa said with a wide smile.

Brooke smiled back at her; "That's really sweet."

"I know it sounds crazy…"

Kate smirked; "You can get a lot done in a text, isn't that right Dr. Davis?" she asked Brooke as Brooke's mouth fell open. "Dr. Davis understands the importance of looking your best, it's a very important day for her. A big one. _Huge_ apparently."

Brooke was stunned into silence. She had seen the text after all and apparently she was ready to embarrass Brooke at every available opportunity.

"Aw, that's so nice!" Melissa said to Brooke who snapped out of her shock to reply to Melissa.

"It's unconfirmed right now." Brooke said, knowing that by the end of the day she could be in her bed for the foreseeable future. This surgery was almost like a last hurrah.

"Well, we will be back to prep you for surgery. Let's go Dr. Davis." Kate said as Brooke sheepishly followed her out of the room and down the corridor.

"So. You got my text."

"Oh yeah. I got it_ good_." Kate teased with a laugh.

"Obviously that was not meant for you… My sex ban may be getting lifted today and the sexting with Lucas has reached its_ peak_-" Brooke awkwardly explained with a little laugh.

"So I see."

"I—I should really be more careful…"

"You should be careful in this surgery - you don't want to waste energy cause by the look of things you're going to need it for late..." Kate teased further.

Brooke sighed; "Can we skip to the part where this joke gets old?"

Kate got her phone out and read the message again; "Did you really do this?"

"I ha—I have not. I was just… I'm going to go to my appointment now." Brooke said, quickly walking away to stop herself from digging into an even deeper hole.

* * *

After her appointment, Brooke quickly rushed round the hospital looking for Lucas. It didn't take long for her to find him in the surgical wing at one of the nurses' stations.

"Hey! I'm free!" she said happily as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Free from what?"

"The placenta previa is cleared! No more worrying."

"That's amazing!" he said as he hugged her tightly and kissed her head.

"This is weird." Brooke commented as she released herself from the hug.

"What's weird?"

"I haven't had a string of good news like this in a long time. I don't remember the last time my life was so happy and normal—surely something's going to go wrong." She dramatically stated.

"You can't think like that."

"Considering my track record, I can, and I _will_. Though, this morning… I accidentally sexted Kate" Brooke confessed as she scrunched up her nose and Lucas's eyes widened.

"You're kidding" he said with a little laugh.

"Nope. And she's probably never going to let me live it down."

Lucas nodded; "That's fair, I wouldn't either."

"At least we can now stop the sex fast" Brooke said as she bit her lip and smiled.

"Yeah, that's been rough, but the sexting thing was surprisingly hot—" Lucas said as he bent down to kiss her, but a cough interrupted them.

They looked up and saw Peyton standing there, tapping her foot. "Could I get a plastic's consult in the pit? _Please?"_ she added in, a little too forcefully at the end.

Lucas cleared his throat; "Sure thing…" he said as he followed Peyton away, but not before turning around and sending Brooke a smirk and a wink.

* * *

When Melissa's boyfriend Graham arrived at the hospital, it was soon evident that she had in fact been catfished. He looked nothing like his picture and Melissa was _enraged._ As Brooke and Kate wheeled Melissa to surgery, they were getting an earful about it.

"I gave everything to that man and what did he give me in return? _Lies_. I can't believe I let this happen, I told him that I loved him!" Melissa exclaimed, beyond frustrated with herself.

"You thought he was the one for you, he seemed real." Kate reasoned with her.

"And sometimes someone can seem really good on screen. Almost_ too_ good." Brooke mumbled. This whole thing had hit a nerve with her and made her think about her sexcapades with Lucas. They had really built it up over text—what if it was a let-down? What if_ she_ was a let-down?

Melissa frowned; "He was really good on screen."

At that moment, Lucas walked over and immediately smirked at Brooke.

"Hey" he greeted, happy to see her.

Brooke returned his smirk; "Hey yourself."

"Dr. Scott" Kate told him as she too smirked.

Lucas's smile fell, knowing exactly why she was smirking at him like that. "Don't look at me like that."

"I don't know how to look at you, now that I know what I know." Kate grumbled.

Melissa looked up at Brooke; "Is he your something unconfirmed tonight?"

"Something unconfirmed? Damn, way to tease Davis…" Lucas joked.

"He is my now_ confirmed_ tonight…" Brooke told her.

Melissa turned in her bed slightly and eyed Lucas up and down. _"Great_. You get the hot blonde, and I get _Graham_? I mean come _on_…." she grumbled as Lucas looked confused, having no idea what situation he had just walked in on.

"Dr. Scott you can go away now." Brooke said through her teeth as she felt her cheeks getting redder and redder.

"Why would I want to do that?" Lucas asked as Kate chuckled, seeing how nervous this was making Brooke.

"Yeah, you two can go and catch up if need be…" Kate insisted as Brooke glared right at her.

"I see him every day and every night, there's nothing to catch up on." Brooke said through her teeth.

"Doesn't sound that way…" Melissa said as Brooke closed her eyes in embarrassment.

"You guys are in for one _hell_ of a night." Kate teased further.

_"Goodbye Lucas."_ Brooke said quickly as Lucas finally stopped walking with them.

"Dr. Davis…" he finished with before smirking and walking away.

Brooke stopped and turned to Kate; "I hate you."

"I know."

* * *

They soon made it into the OR and were in the early stages of the surgery when Kate decided to get to the bottom of Brooke's awkwardness in the hallway. She had been incredibly open about the whole sex thing this morning and then suddenly, she had completely closed off. She could barely look at Lucas back there without looking like she was going to scream.

"So, what's your deal?" Kate asked as they worked.

"I'll establish vascular control, then I'll—"

"No, I meant with Lucas. You're being weird about not being on a sex ban anymore."

Brooke shrugged. "There's no deal. What's your deal?" she countered.

"_What?"_

"You're not supposed to tell me to take time to see a _guy_. You're supposed to tell me to hurry up and prep. Can you please do your job and make my life difficult?" Brooke asked. Attendings really weren't supposed to go easy on their residents and Kate was prepared to let Brooke go off and have sex rather than do her job? Family or not, Brooke did not want that kind of treatment.

"I'm just saying after all those texts and then you act like you don't want him near you when he can actually be near you?" Kate questioned. It seemed bizarre to her. Most of the time Brooke and Lucas couldn't keep their hands off each other and now Brooke had practically jumped when he came up to her in the corridor earlier.

Brooke sighed, realising she wasn't going to be getting out of giving her an answer any time soon.

"It's been over a month and we've built it up to monumental heights that I know it's just not going to live up to his expectations—"

"You think he has expectations?"

"You saw the texts Kate…" Brooke said quietly.

"Lucas _loves_ you Brooke. It'll be great no matter what because you're _both_ in love."

"Can we not talk about this?" she groaned. It was started to get weird.

"I'm just being the supportive stepmother."

"Hell. I am in _actual _hell." Never in a million years did she think she would be standing in an OR talking about her sex life with her stepmother.

"Surely this conversation is better had with your stepmother than your _actual _mother." Kate reasoned. She couldn't imagine Victoria talking to Brooke about sex.

"_Both_ are hell." Brooke made clear.

Kate laughed before deciding it was probably time to drop the subject, but not before she gave one more pearl of wisdom, "You're just over thinking it Brooke. Somethings tells me that boy is going to love every part of you until his dying day."

* * *

That evening, Lucas and Brooke left the hospital together as Brooke linked her arm through his.

"Well Dr. Scott, where to next?" she asked.

"I was thinking we could go on a date" he said as he smiled down at her.

"A date? We haven't been on many of those." Brooke said smiling back.

"I know, we really did do everything in reverse, huh?"

"Oh yeah." Brooke said as they both laughed.

"I got us reservations at your favourite restaurant, then I thought we could go for a walk downtown then back to your house for dessert." He said seductively as Brooke giggled.

"I like the way you think Scott."

"Though, in all honesty, we could go home, get into our comfiest clothes, eat junk food and fall asleep watching a trashy chick flick of your choice and I would content. As long as it was with you." He confessed sweetly as Brooke smiled.

"That sounds like the perfect _2__nd _date." She said as he leaned down and kissed her lightly, before walking on into the night.

* * *

A few weeks later, Brooke and Lucas were sitting in Tric waiting for Rachel and Nathan to join them from work. They had a pretty important question they wanted to ask their friends. While they waited, Brooke couldn't help but think of another important issue at hand.

"You know, we haven't thought of any names yet." She commented as she broke apart some nuts that sat on the table.

"No, we haven't..." Lucas said carefully. He had been secretly dreading this part of having a baby. He had a funny feeling he and Brooke would struggle to find any names they could agree upon.

"Brooke Penelope Davis is such an_ iconic_ name…" Brooke boasted. "Except when my parents used it to chastise me" she said with a grimace. She had been full named far too many times in her life.

"Well then our baby needs just an iconic a name that we can shout when we're angry" Lucas teased.

"Agreed. If I have to suffer then so does my kid." Brooke made clear.

"What names were you thinking?" Lucas asked.

"Something strong… but sweet. Bold… but gentle."

Lucas sighed; "Yeah this is going to be a nightmare to pick."

"Hey, no it's not…"

"If that's your criteria then yeah, _it is_." How could they possibly find a name that fit all of what Brooke wanted?

"Well I may not have any first names in mind, but I can tell you what the rest of their name will be."

"Oh yeah?"

"Well, if it's a girl… 'Baby' Victoria Karen Davis Scott."

"Oh, so we're going for the long ass names huh?" Lucas said with a chuckle. He just knew their kid was going to kill them one day for giving them ridiculous names. It was like an unusual form of torture.

"Well we can't exactly include one grandmother and not the other…" Brooke reasoned. She could only imagine the meltdown that would follow if Victoria or Karen didn't make it into the name.

"What if it's a boy?"

"If it's a boy… 'baby' Edward Kirk Davis Scott." Brooke said a little quieter. She wanted to include two men who meant a lot to her, but who she also knew meant a lot to Lucas.

"It's perfect." Lucas said sincerely as he held Brooke's hand.

"Hey love birds." Rachel greeted as she and Nathan came and sat opposite them. "Brooke Davis you are positively glowing!" Rachel complimented. "A beautiful, happy pregnancy flow."

"Well there is_ plenty_ to be happy about. I'm actually kind of enjoying being pregnant right now. Just savouring these last few months." Brooke said with a smile. She had hit the 6 month mark and it all felt like it was going by way too fast.

"So, what did you want to talk to us about?" Nathan asked as he snacked on the nuts at the table.

"We were talking about the baby and what we would do if anything happened to us and that led us to thinking about godparents." Lucas told them as their ears spiked.

"Oh really?" Rachel said with a smile, knowing where this was going.

"Uh huh… and we would really love it if you two could be our baby's godparents." Brooke said as she matched Rachel's wide smile.

"Really?" Nathan asked, wanting to make sure they were sure.

"Yes, really. There is no one else that we would want more than our two best friends." Brooke told them sincerely.

"Aw, Brooke!" Rachel said as she put her hand over her heart, feeling emotional that they would trust her with their baby.

"Is that a yes?" Lucas asked.

"That's a definite yes" Nathan said as Rachel excitedly jumped off her seat and hugged them both.

"We are going to spoil this baby rotten!"

"Oh, we don't doubt that –"

"_LUCAS!"_ They suddenly heard a voice bellow at the door as the turned around and saw an unexpected face marching towards them. "Thank_ god,_ I have been looking _everywhere_ for you!"

"Lily?" Lucas questioned as his sister launched herself into Lucas' arms. "What are you doing here?" he had no idea she was coming in from Boston, but she seemed a little distressed.

"Mom is being a total _psycho_!" she said as she slumped down at the table and Rachel and Nathan quickly slipped away, not wanting to get involved in this particular melt down. "She just can't seem to accept that maybe college isn't the path in life that I'm supposed to take and that is ok! There are_ so_ many other things I could be doing." Lily rambled.

"Hold on, back up… you don't want to stay at college?" Lucas asked. She'd already seen a year and a half of her college education through – why not just finish it?

Lily was about to answer when she turned and looked at Brooke, "Oh my god, Brooke!" she said as she walked round the table and hugged her dramatically. Lily had always been a firecracker and just a little over the top. "I am so happy you're here… but you didn't tell him about college?" she asked as Lucas raised an eyebrow and Brooke gulped.

"You knew she dropped out of college?" Lucas questioned, wondering how Brooke could have forgotten to tell him this kind of important thing about his sister.

"I knew she was thinking about it but I didn't know you'd_ actually_ dropped out." Brooke made clear. She and Lily had spoken on the phone a few weeks ago and Lily had expressed her concerns, but Brooke just thought she was being dramatic – seeing as that was normally the case. But here she was, in Raleigh, saying she was done, and that Karen was mad.

Lily stood tall, "I'm making a bold move. Lucas is all about making bold moves" Lily teased as Lucas rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on. "Brooke, you are _glowing_ by the way—"

"Can we stay on that matter at hand?" Lucas snapped.

Lily glared at her brother, "Lucas. What could be more important than telling the love of your life how _beautiful_ she is?"

Brooke sighed, "Lily, you're deflecting…" she said quietly, knowing she needed to stick with Lucas on this one.

Lily gasped, "Brooke! You're supposed to be on _my_ side…" she sulked.

"I am on your side Lily which is why we should talk about this" Brooke reasoned. Ever since she and Lucas had gotten back together, Brooke and Lily had become close and she was always willing to help Lily out whenever she needed it – even if that meant turning into a bit of a parent. She figured it was probably good practice for when their own baby came.

"God, I came here for some support, not to be nagged at. I get enough of that from mom and dad."

"Lily, we're not going to coddle you, you need to grow up and not avoid your problems." Lucas made clear.

"I'm sorry but you two are the _king and queen_ of avoidance." Lily said with a scoff. She knew all about their emotional incapability and she wasn't about to take a hypocrite's advice.

"… maybe" Lucas said in awkward agreement, "but we started letting our feelings in and look at us now!" he reasoned. He'd like to think that they'd seriously matured over the past few months.

"Yeah thank _god_, your moping was getting _so_ annoying Lucas." Lily said with an eye roll.

Brooke could see Lucas getting more and more frustrated, so figured it was time she tried to diffuse the situation. "How about we just go home and get some rest and then we can talk a little more about this tomorrow?" she suggested.

"There's nothing to talk about. I'm _not_ going back to college." Lily said defiantly.

* * *

"What am I doing here Brooke?" Lily asked as she sulked around the hospital. "My parents are surgeons, I see more than enough of sick people."

"I thought that maybe doing some good today would make you a little more thankful for what you have and the opportunities that you have." Brooke said as they put some hand sanitzer on their hands and walked into the ICU. After taking Lily back to the house and getting her settled in one of the spare rooms, Brooke and Lucas determined that she was being dramatic and getting on like she was a little bit spoilt. They thought maybe a reality check would be of some use and decided to take her into the hospital and show her the importance of a good education.

"I'm not easily guilt tripped." Lily warned her as they stood outside of a patient's room.

"This isn't a guilt trip Lily." Brooke made clear. "So. This is Austin Marmaduke." She said as she motioned to the young boy in the bed. "He's 17 years old, cystic fibrosis. He needs a lung transplant which is why he is up here, hooked to a monitor because his lungs have failed him. For the past few years, he hasn't been able to go to school because he is so sick and all he wants to do is write – but he can't." Brooke said as she walked on, but Lily lingered for a few seconds longer.

"This is Casey Young." Brooke said as the stopped by another patient's door. "26 years old. She was an Olympic athlete. 100m sprint, but she was in a really bad car accident the other day and lost both of her legs… now she can't compete in the way she once did. When she wakes up – her life is going to look completely different and it's going to be heart breaking for her as she tries to adapt to her new normal."

"Ok, ok, I get it." Lily conceded. "These people had their dreams taken away from them, but I don't have big dreams Brooke. I just want to live my life."

"You think going to college isn't living? It is the one time in your life when you can live to your fullest self." Brooke encouraged. "You can be as free as you want to be, you don't have job to go to or bills to pay. You can get a really good education and build the foundations of your future, while just allowing yourself to be _young_. I'm not saying you have to have aspirations like Austin or Casey or even me or Lucas or your parents by being a surgeon – but you have to give yourself a starting point and you can't take the opportunities that you've been given for granted. Maybe college isn't for you, but you can't leave it to be doing nothing. You're too smart and capable for that."

Lily gulped, for the first time realising that maybe the adult influences in her life had a point. Somehow, it was a little easier hearing it from Brooke and not her mother, who tended to just shout her concerns rather than take the time to rationally talk them through.

"Yeah, I guess –" Lily began, but before she could say anything else, there was a commotion at the end of the corridor and Brooke rushed down to see what was going on.

"Sir, I need you to calm down." Rachel said sternly to the man in front of her. He looked to be in complete hysterics and nothing Rachel was saying was making it better.

"You told me she would be fine! You told me she would get better!" he exclaimed through his tear filled eyes.

"Sir, as doctors we can make no such promises. We were hopeful, but sometimes there is nothing we can do and unfortunately this was one of those times." Rachel made clear.

"What's going on?" Brooke asked as she walked over and Lily hovered behind.

"You doctors think you can play god when you can't do_ shit!"_ the man exclaimed as he shoved Rachel.

"Sir, that is enough!" Brooke exclaimed as she stepped in between him and Rachel.

"My wife is dead! And all because of you!" he shouted just as Lucas and Nathan also came round the corner after hearing all the fuss.

Truth was, he and his wife had been involved in a car accident – caused by him – and now he was looking for anyone to blame in his grief as his wife lay brain dead in the room beside them. Brooke was about to say something else to try and calm him down, but he reached to the trolley next to him and ripped a scalpel from its packing, causing all the doctors and nurses around him to jump back a step.

"Sir, put the scalpel down." Lucas demanded as he held up his hand.

"NO!" he exclaimed as he moved forward. Lucas instinctively reacted and charged for the man in an attempt to grab the knife, but his reflexes were quick and he shoved Lucas aside. Brooke's instincts to protect Lucas then kicked in and she stepped forward, just as the man came in her direction. She bashed into him and let out a short gasp of air before stumbling back.

Everything seemed to move around them in slow motion in that moment. Brooke looked at her friends who looked shocked and watched as they looked down at her chest.

"_Brooke"_ Rachel said in a quiet breath as Brooke looked down and saw the scalpel was plunged between her ribs and right beside her heart. The man who stabbed her looked panicked. He hadn't meant to do that, what the _hell_ had he just done? He was desperate to help and did the one thing he shouldn't have done – he reached forward and pulled the scalpel out, causing Brooke to let out another raspy breath. She stayed upright for a few more seconds before she felt her consciousness go, just as Nathan lunged forward and he caught her before she hit the ground.

"Somebody get me a gurney!" Nathan exclaimed as he lay her on the ground beside him and reached to the trolley for a pair of gloves. He needed to see where the scalpel had penetrated. He needed to see if it had hit her heart.

Lucas had managed to stumble to his feet just as Nathan had caught Brooke. He stood back and watched the scene unfold before him, feeling helpless. He watched as Nathan put his finger inside the wound to plug the bleeding.

"Where did it hit?" Rachel desperately asked as she wrapped an oxygen mask around Brooke's head.

Nathan looked up in desperation_, "It's her heart."_


	23. The Blame Game

I'll not leave you guys wondering any longer...

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Three – The Blame Game**

_Click_.

The turning on of the voice recorder echoed through the room.

"Let the record show that we are officially convening the inquiry into the events of May 28th in Raleigh Med ICU unit." William Piper, the chief of surgery, said for the recording as the room remained in an eerie silence. It had been two weeks since Brooke's accident, and now the hospital was looking into the incident – mainly to find someone to blame for the whole thing. It apparently wasn't enough to place the blame on the irrational, worked up man who stabbed her in the first place. They had to look to a higher authority.

"Dr. Scott" Piper said again as Lucas snapped out of the trance he was in. He'd been in and out of a trance for the past two weeks, barely containing his emotions and barely sleeping a wink. He looked a mess today – but he didn't care. It was just the most bizarre thing in the world watching the love of his life lying on the floor of the hospital after having a scalpel pierce her heart. "Do you have any questions?"

"… can we just get this over with?"

"Ok" Piper said as he cleared his throat, immediately picking up that Lucas had no desire to be here. "The purpose of this interview is to establish where you were, what you were doing, why you did it—"

"There's no point trying to sugar coat it Dr. Piper, I know this is a witch hunt." Lucas said bluntly as he lounged in his chair, entirely uninterested in this conversation. He had better places to be. More _important_ places to be.

"That is not the case Dr. Scott –"

"Yes, it is. You're looking for someone to blame because apparently it isn't enough to blame the man who did this." Lucas shot back.

"What were you thinking when you ran for the man Dr. Scott? What were you trying to achieve?" Piper asked. If Lucas wasn't going to cooperate easily, Piper was prepared to play hardball.

"I was thinking – this man is dangerous. He's got a knife and he could hurt any one of us, so I better do something about it." Lucas said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Did it ever occur to you that if you had stayed put, Dr. Davis wouldn't have moved in an effort to help you and she might be ok?"

Lucas felt his anger flaring. Not so much at Piper, but at the whole situation. "You think I don't blame myself for this? Of course I blame myself! It should have been me on the floor. I was the one who provoked him. So, I would appreciate it, _sir_, if you didn't sit there accusing me of not feeling anything at all. You don't know _shit _about what I have been going through the past two weeks." He snapped as Piper sat back in his chair, realising that he had perhaps gone too far. Just because he wasn't the one who was stabbed, doesn't mean that he didn't carry the pain of this with him.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Scott." Piper apologised. "I'm sure this is difficult for you."

Lucas gulped and tried to contain his emotions, "My girlfriend was stabbed in the heart and the only thing keeping her alive was Dr. Lee's finger plugging the hole." He recounted as if Piper didn't already know this. Though, Lucas wasn't convinced that Piper realised the magnitude of what happened and how it had affected the people in the hospital. "And then there's the fact that our baby—" he said, choking up again at the thought. "Our _daughter_ had to be delivered at 26 weeks and it currently on a ventilator, fighting for her life." He managed to mutter out as Piper merely gulped and remained silent. "If blaming me is what gets this over with quickly, fine. _Blame me._ Cause I have much more important places to be Dr. Piper."

"… you can go now Dr. Scott." Piper said, realising that this wasn't productive to his investigation. Not when Lucas was in such an emotional state. His whole world was collapsing around him and he had no idea what to do. _He just needed her._

* * *

Lucas stood outside the NICU and watched his daughter through the window. She was just so tiny and he was in no way prepared to become a father this way. He had expected to be holding Brooke's hand in the delivery room while she screamed profanities at him for getting her into this position. He expected the midwife to put a healthy, pink, plump baby in Brooke's arms and for it to be the most joyous occasion in the world. While his heart was already full of love for their little girl, he couldn't say that this was a joyous occasion for him. Not when she wasn't here with him to watch her.

He felt a presence join him and in his peripheral vision, realised it was Nathan.

"She gets cuter every day." Nathan commented. He and Haley had been into the NICU a few times to check in on his goddaughter – especially when Lucas found it too hard to do so. He could only watch from the window. He said he couldn't hold her yet – not when Brooke hadn't. This was something they were supposed to do together. So, the two of them were the only comfort the little girl had right now.

Lucas nodded, "She looks just like her mom."

"Yeah… did you speak to Piper?"

"Yeah. He's looking for someone to blame. I'm pretty sure he wants it to be me." He told Nathan as he shoved his hands in his pockets.

"They can search all they want for someone to blame and the only person they're going to find it the man who did this." Nathan made clear. No one blamed anyone other than him. No one blamed Lucas for moving, no one blamed Rachel for failing to save the man's wife – they just blamed _him._ "It's a waste of time, but let them waste their time if that's what they want to do." Nathan said with a shrug.

"Has uh – has Rachel come back to work yet?" Lucas asked, not having seen the red head for the past two weeks.

"No" Nathan confirmed. "She still blames herself." Ever since the accident, Rachel completely withdrew from everybody. She felt so guilty about what happened. She figured if she had have been able to save this man's wife everything would have been fine or if she'd managed to talk him down quicker, he wouldn't have grabbed that scalpel in the first place.

"Lily blames herself too." Lucas revealed, feeling even more sad at the thought of his little sister. "She thinks that if she hadn't have dropped out of college and acted like a brat about it, Brooke wouldn't have felt the need to take her to the ICU." Lucas didn't blame his sister in the slightest, but he didn't have the emotional energy to comfort her right now. That was all Karen had been doing since it happened.

Nathan shook his head, "there is no point passing blame. You said it yourself, Piper is out of his mind trying to pin it on someone." Lucas nodded his head and stared straight ahead of him. His daughter already had some dark hair resting on her head. He could already tell she would be the carbon copy of Brooke. "She'd be really mad at you, you know." Nathan commented as Lucas' head shot round.

"What?" he asked, having no idea what he was talking about.

"Brooke. She would really mad at you for not being in the NICU with your daughter right now." Nathan said. He had given Lucas some space over the past two weeks, but now he was ready to give him some tough love. Brooke would freak if she knew Lucas had been avoiding going in there.

"I know." Lucas conceded. He'd thought about it a lot. He thought about how Brooke would feel. Yet he still couldn't go in. "I just – I'm so scared that I'm going to lose her. I can't lose her. I can't lose either of them."

"Your daughter is fine Lucas. She's getting stronger every day. She just needs a little help breathing right now but that's normal and Brooke—"

"Brooke is in a coma Nathan. She's been in a coma for two weeks and I know it's so her body recovers from the surgery, but it's hard not to feel like she might not wake up at all." Lucas said with desperation in his eyes. He just couldn't let himself believe that she would be ok because he just felt so helpless. She was in the ICU, she was alive, she would wake up – but he just felt so alone. He felt so lost without her.

"Luke – the tip of the scalpel reached the cardiac muscle and caused a _minor_ laceration on her ventricle. It was the size of the tip of my index finger, I was able to plug it, they were able to repair it, _she will be fine_. She will wake up and she will get to hold her baby and you will have the family that you have been waiting for. I just _know_ it."

* * *

After speaking with Nathan, Lucas made his way up to Brooke's ICU room and sat beside her bed, like he had done every day and every night for the past two weeks. The doctor had stopped her medication that was keeping her in a coma the previous evening, so they were expecting her to wake up soon, but she still appeared unresponsive.

Lucas leaned on the bed and held Brooke's hand tightly between both of his.

"You know… I thought I always understood love." Lucas began speaking quietly as the monitors beeped around him. "I thought it was just about finding someone that you clicked with. Someone that you could build a life with… but it's so much more than that and I only realised that when I met you. Love is a powerful thing. It's consuming and it prevails through anger and sadness and tragedy. It also makes those little moments in life so brighter and the big moments in life – well that's what it's all about, isn't it?" He said with a little laugh and a sniff. "I need you to wake up Brooke. I need you to be ok. I need you for the little moments and the big moments, I need you for it all because life doesn't feel worth it without you in it. I have never loved like I love you. I need you to wake up so I can show you that love every day for the rest of our lives." He begged as he rested his forehead against their clasped hands and let a few tears fall.

"You should be a writer" he heard a croaky and quiet voice say. His head shot up and he looked at Brooke. Her eyes were opening, and she was looking at him with the weakest, cheekiest grin he had seen in a long time.

_"Brooke"_

"You always did have a way with words" she said, finishing her justification for why Lucas should be a writer.

Lucas smiled widely and let out a breath, "Maybe in another life" he said as Brooke smiled. "Thank god." He said with such relief in his voice as he stood up and kissed her head, lingering slightly just to breathe her in. "How do you feel?" he asked, realising it was probably a stupid question.

"Like I've been run over by a truck." She joked as Lucas sat on the edge of the bed, still tightly grasping her hand, hoping he would never have to let her go.

"I also feel a little bit lighter…" she commented as she glanced down at her stomach and realised it looked significantly flatter.

Lucas gulped, "Yeah, they uh – they had to deliver the baby Brooke. The stress on your body caused you to go into preterm labour and the baby was really distressed."

Brooke face fell a thousand miles as panic spread through her body, "Is she ok?"

"… she? You know she is a she?" he asked.

"Mother's intuition" she said with a lopsided smirk.

Lucas nodded his head, "She is ok. She's tiny and she's having trouble breathing on her own, but she is ok and she will continue to be ok… because her mother is the strongest person in the world." He said confidently. For the first time, he felt like he could say that and actually mean it and it truly warmed his soul.

"When do I get to meet her?" Brooke asked desperately.

"As soon as you're ready to move… so not quite yet" he said quietly, knowing Brooke would be frustrated. "I know how you want to Brooke and I wish you could, but you need to rest. I promise, you will get to meet her very soon." He encouraged as he ran his hand affectionately over her hair.

"She doesn't have a name" Brooke reminded him. Anything that was suggested had been instantly shot down.

"I uh – I did have a think about that while I was waiting for you to wake up for you long ass nap…" he teased as Brooke lightly swatted him with what little energy she had.

"What did you have in mind?" she asked as Lucas lifted out a little sheet of paper from his pocket and handed it to her.

"I don't know, I just looked at her and the came into my head and – it fits." He said with a little laugh as Brooke felt herself tear up at the page.

"It's perfect" she agreed as he nodded his head and bent down to lightly kiss hers.

"I love you" he whispered.

"I love you too."

* * *

A week and a bit later, Brooke had made a strong recovery. Although she was still pretty weak, she could move around a little better and was finally able to see her little girl. She was so overcome with emotion when she saw her daughter lying in her incubator in the NICU. She was just so tiny and her entrance to the world was abrupt and fast and unplanned and it all just overwhelmed Brooke. While she was so excited her baby was here, she was nervous for her recovery.

It seemed as though Brooke's recovery worked on the same schedule as her baby's, however. As soon as Brooke went to her, her stats improved dramatically and she was taken off the ventilator, finally being able to breath on her own. Lucas and Brooke were even allowed to hold her as she got better. It didn't seem fair that she had been in the world for over 3 weeks, yet her parents had barely any time to hold her and cuddle her.

Brooke also had to balance her own recovery. She was staying in the hospital just for a few more nights to make sure all her stats were at good levels and then she was being allowed home. She was grateful because she was bored stiff sometimes, but she was also anxious about leaving her baby behind.

The night before she got home, Lucas was called away on an emergency and while Brooke was reluctant to let him go, she knew she didn't have much of a choice. She had asked him to try and find Rachel for her though. Lucas had told her that she was feeling really guilty about Brooke's accident and that was why she had barely been by. The fact that she wasn't here worried Brooke. She was heartbroken that her friend felt this way, but no matter how many messages she left her, Rachel just didn't respond. It was like she was afraid to face Brooke, despite Brooke telling her she had nothing to be ashamed of.

While Brooke waited around for Lucas, she decided to use this quiet time to sleep. She stirred after sleeping for a little over an hour and looked around to see Karen standing by the window. When she heard Brooke rustle she turned around.

"Hi Brooke" she said with a little smile. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"I'm ok, a little sore" Brooke said as she sat up a little in the bed, but not without a wince.

"I was just visiting your little angel in the NICU. She is _divine_ Brooke and she was just fascinated with her grandma" Karen boasted as Brooke let out a little laugh. "I can't believe what you went through Brooke." Karen said in disbelief. She knew Brooke was tough as nails but not _that _tough. Two major surgeries in one go following a horrible accident. It was remarkable that she was going so well.

"It's pretty unbelievable, but I'm ok. We're both ok" Brooke said, knowing that that was the most important thing.

"Exactly… I wish I knew what to call her" Karen commented as she scrolled through the photos of the baby she had taken with a little smile on her face.

Brooke raised an eyebrow; "Lucas didn't tell you?" Since they had finally agreed on a name and she was surprised Lucas was running around, proudly telling everyone.

"Not yet."

"He'd probably want to be the one to tell you—"

"He doesn't have to be here." Karen insisted, dying to know her granddaughter's name.

"Well uh—we wanted something strong, something sweet, something memorable—"

Karen gasped; "Is it _Karen?!"_

Brooke's eyes widened as she awkwardly laughed; "We thought there could only be _one_ Karen… her name is Sophie." She revealed.

Karen smiled; "Sophie… I love it. Sophie Scott. It's beautiful, it just flows!" Karen said proudly.

"It's Davis-Scott actually…"

"Davis-Scott? Well isn't that a bit of a mouthful for her?" Karen asked.

"No, no not really." Brooke argued. Karen totally had a point though. Her full name was Sophie Karen Victoria Davis-Scott. It was a lot of names that she had no doubt Sophie would hate them for one day.

"… maybe Scott Davis would be better." Karen decided.

"Davis Scott is_ just_ fine." Brooke said through her teeth. She was in no mood to fight Karen over this, but she was starting to think she might have to.

"I mean, she is your baby, you can call her whatever you want." Karen said in a passive aggressive manner.

"Just as long as Scott's there front and centre?" Brooke challenged.

"I'll say this. Scott wasn't my name either. But I took it on and I built it into something and that name will open doors for your little girl. I'm just thinking of her future—"

"And Davis won't? It means something too. It's associated with some of the best surgeons in the world. It means _beloved_ – and that is all I could ever want for my daughter." Brooke made clear.

"I was also thinking that maybe I could come and stay with you for a little while, just to help you out with the baby while you recover" Karen offered. Brooke froze. Victoria had already offered, and it had been an immediate_ no_. The last thing she needed was to be dealing with either Karen or Victoria constantly sticking their nose in and making things more difficult for her.

"It's ok, Karen, really, I've got this-."

"I'm not sure you do Brooke" Karen said as she sat on the edge of the bed. "You nearly died bringing her into this world so now you need to rest and relax. I can deal with anything at the NICU and the first few weeks at home – it's what grandmas are for!" she insisted, but Brooke felt like she was really overstepping the boundaries of a grandma. "Scott-Davis?" she asked again just as Lucas walked in.

"We are hyphenating mom. Davis-Scott." Lucas said as he gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Well, she is _your_ baby…" Karen said.

"Yes. She is my baby. _That—"_ she said as she pointed to Lucas. "Is _your_ baby. She is _my _baby." Brooke said as Karen and Lucas chuckled.

"And I will do my best to remember that…" Karen said as she lifted her bag from the chair. "I'm going to head home, it's getting late. Goodnight you two"

"Night mom" "Night Karen"

"So" Lucas began with a small smile after Karen had left the room. "I was just talking to Dr. Johnson and he said he would be happy to send you home tonight instead of tomorrow."

"… oh" Brooke said, not really sure how she should feel.

Lucas frowned and sat beside her, "Do you not want to go home?"

"I do want to go home – I just want to go home with my baby" Brooke said with a sad smile as Lucas nodded his head. He understood exactly how that felt. He couldn't go home in the two weeks that he was alone. He stayed by Brooke's side all day and night.

"I know it's hard Brooke, but she is probably going to be here for at least another 8 or so weeks." Lucas reminded her as Brooke looked at her nap and nodded her head. Sophie may have been doing well, but she still had a long way to go. "And you still need to recover too Brooke. You need to be in your own bed, you need your own comforts. Sophie is in very capable hands and we will be here everyday with her."

"You're right… I don't want to be in this hospital bed any longer than I have to. Let's sign the paper work" she said quietly as Lucas nodded his head and kissed her hand before leaving the room to get things sorted.

* * *

A short while later, Brooke was staring over Sophie's incubator in the NICU, feeling emotional. She was trying to hold back her tears but knew the flood gates would open soon. This is not how she imagined leaving the hospital after Sophie was born and she knew it would be difficult leaving. She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Lucas standing beside her, also looking into the incubator with such wonder in his eyes.

"How do you do that?" Brooke asked in almost a whisper.

"Do what?" he asked as he looked up at her.

"Make me feel so calm with just one touch" she said as Lucas smiled softly and kissed the side of her head.

"Love does some wonderful things to people" he said with a little laugh as Brooke relaxed in against him.

"Just before the accident, my mom sent me the onesie she put on me when she first took me home from the hospital. It's yellow and it had little ducks on it and it's just the sweetest thing in the world" Brooke told him. "That was going to be Sophie's coming home onesie."

"Why are you talking as if that still won't be the case? Sure, she's not coming home now, but she will be very soon and she'll get to wear the onesie and we'll be the embarrassing parents taking so many photographs" Lucas joked as Brooke let out a laugh.

"This is _crap_" Brooke grumbled. "She's supposed to be with me, bonding and attaching or whatever. Smelling me like birds or dogs—" she rambled as Lucas eyed her curiously.

"Birds or dogs?"

Brooke lightly slapped him in the chest, "Shut up, it's _nature._" she reasoned. "How's she going to attach to me when she's here and I'm there?"

"Because you are also going to be here, watching over her as she continues to grow." Lucas assured her. He'd been doing a lot of that over the past week and a bit and he sensed it wasn't going to stop any time soon.

"Yeah, you're right, you're right" Brooke insisted as she looked up at the window and her mouth fell open slightly. She lifted her hand and waved lightly at the person standing there, staring in at Sophie. She really didn't expect to see her here.

Lucas looked up when he saw Brooke wave and was also surprised.

"You should go talk to her" Lucas said quietly as Brooke nodded her head and left the NICU.

"Rachel" she said as her best friend turned around to look at her, her eyes bloodshot. She looked exhausted and Brooke's heart broke for her.

"Hey… she's really beautiful." Rachel said as they both turned to look through the window again, watching as the nurse lifted Sophie out of her incubator for Lucas to hold.

Brooke smiled, "Yeah. She is."

"I'm sorry I haven't been by—"

"You don't need to apologise... for any of it." Brooke made clear as Rachel looked at her feet.

"If I had have done more to save that man's wife—"

"She was dead before she got to the hospital—"

"Or calmed him down sooner—"

"Stop blaming yourself." Brooke said firmly as Rachel remained silent. "No one is to blame for this. As worked up as that man was, he didn't mean to stab me, he didn't mean to hurt me and who cares? I'm ok, Sophie is ok."

"… Sophie?" Rachel asked, hearing her goddaughter's name for the first time.

"Yeah. Sophie… and she's going to need you Rachel. She's going to need her godmother when her parents are being totally irrational and annoying and unfair" Brooke said with a little laugh. "And I'm going to need you to be that person that helps her let off a little steam… in a safe manner of course" Brooke added, her maternal instincts kicking in already. "So please, come in and meet her properly – and then we're going to go home and stick on a movie and eat all around us."

"Lucas would be ok with that? He'll probably want you in bed—"

"Well Lucas isn't the boss of me" Brooke pointed out as Rachel smiled at her defiance. "And I'm also calling Haley and Nathan and getting their asses over because you need your best friends and the people you love most in this world."

"I love you Brooke Davis and I am so grateful that you are ok."

"I love you too Rachel Gatina." She said as she hugged her friend before pulling her into the NICU to meet Sophie.

* * *

A short while later, Brooke, Lucas and Rachel arrived home to an empty house. Kate and Ellie had gone to visit her mom for the week and Rachel had been avoiding the house too, instead choosing to stay at Johnny's.

"Ok – Lucas, you are on popcorn and snack duty, Rachel, you are on movie duty and I am on duvets and blanket and pillow duty from upstairs – go forth and conquer!" she joked before making her way upstairs.

The following morning, Lucas walked through the hospital with Sophie in his arms. As the approached Brooke's room, they saw Richard coming out of it and a wide smile graced his face.

"She's surprisingly cheery" Rachel commented as she and Lucas walked into the kitchen.

"She has ups and downs – hormones, I guess. We both know how much she likes to avoid how she's actually feeling, so she wants to focus on anything but. She'll focus on this movie night and she'll focus on Sophie, but not herself." Lucas determined. He really did know her pretty well.

"That doesn't mean she doesn't need help" Rachel pointed out. "Brooke isn't the sort of person to ask for it. She likes to prove she can cope on her own but she doesn't have to do that anymore – she has you, through all of it."

"She knows I'm there but… Davis' are stubborn."

Rachel sniggered; "Oh I know. But you just have to be persistent, she'll come around."

Lucas nodded his head as Rachel went into the living room to pick out a movie. Maybe_ he_ just needed to be stubborn with _her_ instead. He was always the one giving in, but maybe she just needed someone to tell her that it was ok not to be ok. Someone to just look after her.

He left the kitchen and found Brooke in her bedroom, gathering all the linen she could, he kept a straight face and stopped in the doorway, an idea springing into his head and he was determined to take no for an answer. Brooke turned around and spotted him staring in silence, raising an eyebrow.

"What's up?" Brooke asked with a little laugh, wondering why he was staring at her like that.

"We're moving in together. Officially."

Brooke dropped the linen at her feet "Huh?"

"I know the last time we talked about this you said you wanted your own space, but Sophie needs to be with both of us. We're a family and I love you and—we should do this." He reasoned. He wanted nothing more than to have both girls with him all the time.

"Lucas—"

"I'm not saying we have to leave the crazy house" he said with a little laugh, knowing it would be hard for Brooke to leave Rachel, Kate and Maya. "They should stay for as long as they need, all I'm saying is let me move in – permanently."

"I uh – I don't want you to feel forced into something" she said quietly. Even after all the time, she still felt a little insecure.

Lucas smiled, "There's nothing forced about it. We spend every night together anyway. Let's just make it a more permanent place. Let's make it _our _home." He said softly.

Brooke smiled. Her little family in their own home. What could be more perfect? "Ok" she said quietly.

"Ok?" Lucas said, surprised she wasn't finding more to argue on about it.

"Ok." She confirmed as Lucas walked forward and hugged her, excited to start this next phase of their lives together.


	24. Boring Miracles

**Brooke and Lucas struggle through the difficulties of a newborn... enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Four – Boring Miracles**

8 WEEKS LATER

After 8 long and tiring weeks everything was beginning to fall into place for Brooke and Lucas. Sophie was finally released from the hospital after the doctors had confirmed she was now one healthy and fat baby, much to her parents' delight. Now that she had grown, she was starting to look more definitively like her parents. She was a carbon copy of Brooke – Victoria had even supplied baby pictures to prove it – but her eyes were all Lucas. She was perfect in every way imaginable and Lucas and Brooke were so thankful that they could bring her home in that cute little yellow onesie with the ducks on it.

Brooke had also recovered from her traumatic incident, though she still had regular check-ups to make sure everything was ok. Lucas had also officially moved into the house. Rachel and Kate had decided that after a few weeks in, it was probably best that they move on and give Lucas and Brooke their own space. Brooke was sad to see them go, she had loved hosting the crazy house, but she was also excited for this next part of her life and bringing her baby home.

What Brooke hadn't anticipated about bringing Sophie home and being on maternity leave was the boredom she would feel. She loved her daughter so much, but she was so used to being in a high stress environment and always doing something. It felt so unusual to her to be Sophie at home – she really didn't think the miracle of life could be so boring.

A week after Sophie had been brought home, Brooke tried to inconspicuously slip into the ER—with Sophie in tow. She had heard that a big accident had come in and sitting at home was just driving her _nuts_. It was entirely true that surgeons were egotistical maniacs and found it incredibly difficult to leave the job for more than a night.

Brooke barely got through the front door of the hospital before she was stopped by Lucas.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"It's bad for me to just be sitting around all day, so I figured some exercise and fresh air would do me good – would do both of us good." She tried to justify as Sophie sat peacefully in her arms.

Lucas folded his arms; "You can walk around the block. It's a nice neighbourhood, you should check it out." He saw right through her excuses to the heart of why she was here and he was prepared to challenge her on it in a jokey way.

"Yeah, totally, it's _super _nice." Brooke thought about it for a second before looking down at Sophie, another idea coming to mind. "I figured you'd want to see Soph"

"That's sweet babe, I did just see her an hour ago at breakfast…" Lucas reminded her as he delicately ran his finger over his daughter's soft and chubby cheek.

"But look at her little face, you can't get enough of this nugget." Brooke said with a wide smile that Lucas soon returned.

"No, I guess you can't…"

"Ok, so we are just going to go down to the ER for a minute, check out what's going on down there, I hear there's a big accident being brought in, multiple cars—" Brooke said as she started to walk away.

"Really? You're going to take a newborn down to the ER with all the blood, germs and dying people?" Lucas questioned as Brooke stopped in her tracks.

"… right. Bad idea." She said as Lucas nodded. Another idea then sparked in Brooke's mind. "Who wants to go see daddy?!" Brooke cooed to Brooke as she set Sophie in Lucas's arms.

"Brooke—Oh okay then." He said as she dropped her baby bag at his feet.

"Bring her back when she's hungry, I love you!" she called to him as she rushed round to the ER.

Lucas looked down at Sophie as she rested perfectly in his right arm, gazing up at him with her bright blue eyes. "Your momma is crazy Soph… but I wouldn't change her for the world" he said as he kissed her head and walked away with her.

* * *

Brooke managed a whole half hour to herself before Lucas gave Sophie back to her. He had tried to give her the space to get her surgical fill, but he was the one actually supposed to be at work and he couldn't delay his surgeries any longer.

While Brooke knew the ER wasn't the best place for them to be, she didn't see the harm is sitting in one of the perfectly sanitised hallways just off the ER where there were windows into some of the trauma rooms. She sat on one of the gurney's opposite the window while feeding Sophie, watching as the doctors ran codes and what not.

Soon enough, Nathan walked past, surprised to see them sitting there.

"What's going on here?" Nathan asked as he looked through the window.

"They're running a code" Brooke informed him.

"I just froze off a wart." Nathan told her with a sigh as he sat beside her. He'd been having an annoyingly boring day.

"I just wiped a butt." Brooke responded quickly.

"I did that too."

"Well my body is making food for another human, I guess that's something." Brooke said with a shrug. She had desperately been trying to find some sort success in motherhood. As a surgeon, she was always looking for the remarkable. Always looking for ways to be the best she could be. Unsurprisingly, she didn't look at motherhood much differently.

"You got me beat there." He grumbled as they watched the latest trauma come in.

"Man, I can't wait to get back to this place." Brooke commented.

"It really does miss you Brookie" he confirmed as Brooke finished feeding Sophie. She took the blanket off her – before having another thought.

"You want to burp her?" Brooke asked as she held Sophie out to him.

Nathan grimaced, "I don't know how to do that"

Brooke rolled her eyes, "You're a doctor man, you know how to burp a baby. Besides – this definitely falls under godparent duty of care"

Nathan frowned, "I'm not sure that it does – oh ok" he said as Brooke handed Sophie to him before he could say no.

"See, you just set the cloth here and then gently pat her back – look, you're a natural!" she said as she jumped up from the gurney. "Thanks Nate, bring her back when she gets hungry again!" she said quickly before power walking away.

"_BROOKE!"_ Nathan called after her. "I did not agree to this! Brooke Davis! Get back here!" he called, but it was no use. Maybe babysitting wouldn't be such a bad thing to do today.

* * *

Nathan figured if he was on babysitting duty he could at least take the time to observe some surgeries from the viewing gallery. Sophie was perfectly content up there – for about half an hour. She soon started crying and the smell coming from her diaper proved why. Nathan cursed under his breath as he laid Sophie out a mat on the ground of the gallery to change her. He couldn't remember the last time he changed a diaper, so he knew this could go _horribly_ wrong. Sophie was being fussy too, so Nathan tried desperately to keep her still and occupied.

"A-B-C-D— oh _gross_—" Nathan sang as he removed Sophie's diaper. "E-F-G. H- I- this couldn't suck any worse—"

Before he started singing again, Haley walked into the gallery and looked down at the scene in front of him, completely confused.

"Nathan?" she questioned, hoping for an answer to what was before him.

"Hi Hales" Nathan said with a nervous laugh. "Sorry for the smell, we had a bit of an… _incident."_

"Are you having trouble with the diaper?" she asked with an amused smile.

"Pfft, _no—"_ he said, trying to play the whole thing down. If he and Haley were ever going to have a family one day, he wanted her to have at least some confidence in his diaper changing abilities. "I have a 4.0 GPA and I'm sitting at the top of my class at med school, I can handle a diaper… unless you want to?" Nathan said, looking up at Haley with pleading eyes.

"And ruin this perfect moment? I don't think so." Haley insisted, secretly loving this dose of reality Nathan was getting. Haley quickly snapped a picture before running away from a glaring Nathan as he desperately tried to finish the changing.

* * *

After changing Sophie's diaper, Nathan left to quickly find Brooke. She looked after babies all the time in the NICU, hell he'd operated on some of the tiniest hearts in the world, but this was too much. He wasn't ready for this, but Brooke was, this was her baby, she chose this! Nathan couldn't find her anywhere, but he did manage to find Rachel in the canteen having her lunch.

"Rachel, take her" he pleaded, holding Sophie out to her.

"_Nope."_ Rachel replied as she continued to eat her salad.

"Oh, come on! You want to go into neo-natal surgery, this is perfect! You need to be good with babies!" Nathan justified as Sophie looked between her two godparents with curious eyes.

"Yeah, but those babies will be unconscious and in the womb when they're with me." She reminded him. "Nathan, she is perfectly happy in your arms, look at her! She can't take her eyes off you." Rachel said as Nathan looked down and saw Sophie staring right up at him.

"Yeah, well— it's a natural response." He boasted as Rachel rolled her eyes. "I smell like vomit and crap, this is the reason some species eat their young."

"I have work to do…" Rachel said as she stood up from the table.

"And you call yourself a godmother!" Nathan shouted after her as Rachel smiled and waved while she walked away.

"Well I'm glad I got to witness that…" Brooke remarked as Nathan turned around and saw her smiling with her arms crossed over her chest.

Nathan let out a breath and walked towards her, holding Sophie out in front of him "I love this kid Brooke. I love her a heck of a lot. But no more diapers. _No way."_ He made clear as Brooke chuckled and took Sophie from him.

"Aw, did you make a stinky in your diaper for Uncle Nate?! Aren't you the sweetest little monkey, getting him a present like that…" she teased at Sophie as she smiled widely at her, causing the baby to give her mother a lopsided, toothless smile.

"Where have you been anyway?" Nathan asked as he cleaned his hands with a baby wipe.

"Trying to get in on some surgical action but no one was having any of it…" Brooke said with an eyeroll. "It's probably time I accept my fate and go home…"

"You know… the nurses love babies." Nathan suggested as Brooke quirked an eyebrow. "They would love to meet her, they'd all want a turn and that could take a while…"

"… this is why you're my bestest friend Nathan Lee." Brooke said seriously as Nathan nodded his head.

"Your welcome."

* * *

That evening, Brooke eagerly inspected the OR board while the nurses all took turns at holding Sophie. Nathan was right – the nurses couldn't get enough of her. Lucas walked around the corner ready to go home after his final surgery and was surprised to see his girlfriend and daughter still there.

"I thought you would be gone by now" Lucas commented as he approached her.

"Oh you know how it is with a baby, everybody wants a turn" Brooke said as Lucas looked over to all the nurses cooing over his daughter. He then looked between the board and Brooke and a smirk rose on his face.

"Pretty bad tibia fracture in OR 3." He commented.

"Yeah, I saw that…" she mumbled.

"You should have seen the intake, it was _gnarly_." Lucas added as Brooke spun around instantly and looked at him with pleading eyes.

"How gnarly?"

"About 8, 9."

_"Nice."_ Brooke said with a lopsided smirk.

"You are bored out of your freakin mind aren't you?" Lucas said figuring he should just address the issue head on.

Brooke let out a breath; "oh my god I am _so_ bored." She confirmed, relieved that she could finally just be honest about it. "I love Sophie, so much, she is the most precious little thing in the whole world. She'll smile at me with her toothless mouth or make a weird noise and I'm in awe of her and filled with so much joy and thankfulness that she is here and she is safe – but the joy fades when she goes back to sleep and I have _nothing_ to do. I did not realise a miracle could be so boring."

Lucas chuckled at Brooke's words. He figured he would probably feel the same if he was in her position. "Why don't you go check out the fracture for yourself?"

Brooke's eyes brightened; "Really?"

Lucas nodded as he walked over to the nurses; "Has everybody had their turn? Cause daddy would like one." He said as he took Sophie in his arms and kissed her little nose lightly.

"Are you sure you've got her?" Brooke double checked before getting ready to dart to the OR.

"Yes and I am going to take her home and put her to bed and then I'm going to get us some dinner."

"Pizza?"

"Texas BBQ?"

"My _god_ I love you." Brooke said before quickly kissing them and then walking as quickly as she could to OR3 for a much needed gory surgery.

* * *

A week or so later, Lucas sat in one of the conference rooms, resting his head on the table. Things hadn't been easy in the Davis-Scott household since Sophie's arrival. They had weird routines not only because Sophie wasn't into a sleeping pattern, but because Lucas didn't want Brooke putting too much stress on her body following the surgery – despite the fact that it had been 3 months since.

Nathan walked into the conference room and frowned when he saw Lucas there asleep.

"Lucas?" he shouted as his head shot up.

"Yeah, I'll get her" he said quickly, before realising that he was not in fact at home and it was Nathan shouting at him and not Brooke.

"Wow, tough night with Sophie?" Nathan asked as he lent against the door frame.

"Yeah, she got up like 6, maybe 7 times." Lucas said as he ran a hand down his face. "I lost count after a while…" he grumbled as Nathan nodded his head. "Brooke wanted to take it turns but she's with Sophie all day, she needs to rest, I need to do my part, but then she gets mad that I didn't wake her and she tries to help and then we get mad at each other…"

"A vicious cycle."

"Exactly... And then there's the fact that she makes me breakfast every morning."

Nathan frowned; "What's the problem with that? That's a nice a thing to do…"

"She always makes it as a kind gesture which I appreciate, but sometimes, I don't have time to sit down and eat but I can't not eat it without feeling like an ass who doesn't appreciate what she's doing." Lucas concluded with a sigh. Despite having lived with Brooke before, there was a completely different dynamic now, and it appeared it was taking them longer to adjust than anticipated. "So we drink the coffee and eat the pancakes in silence because we're both too tired to talk. We used to spend our mornings laughing and having sex. I want those days back." He whined. "But I'm ready to work, I'm plowing through all this paperwork..." Lucas said unconvincingly as he looked at all the papers sitting in front of him.

"Yeah… good luck with that Mr. Plastic Surgeon, I've got a trauma on the helipad to get to" Nathan said as he rushed away.

Lucas moaned and put his head back on the desk. He could sense this was going to be a long day.

* * *

Meanwhile, Brooke sluggishly walked into one of the on call rooms, to find that Rachel was already there and taking her shoes off.

"Hey, you're back!" Rachel greeted happily. She had really missed having her best friend around here. It was like a part of her was missing.

"I'm not back, I have an appointment with Johnson… in 6 hours. Sophie's in the hospital nursery. So, I'm here to sleep. Dibs on the bottom bunk." Brooke said as she pushed past Rachel and got into the bed.

Rachel folded her arms; "Don't you have your own bed at home?"

"I miss my _old_ bed. Lucas insisted that we get one a little bit bigger so I wasn't constantly kicking him in the middle of the night, which I understand, but I miss my cosy queen-sized bed. This new king-sized bed is too big and I can't day nap there either cause it's cleaning day and people are polishing and vacuuming, it would be rude." Brooke explained, frustration evident in her voice. Lucas had insisted on getting a cleaner so it was less thing for them to have to worry about, but it was interrupting her nap time...

"You are making very little sense." Rachel said as she climbed into the bunk above Brooke.

"You know that thing they say about you sleeping when the baby sleeps? That's a _lie_, babies _don't_ sleep." Brooke grumbled.

Rachel sighed; "_I'd_ like to sleep." She's been here for almost 24 hours, she needed to otherwise she might not make it through her next shift.

"At least _my_ baby doesn't. And when she does sleep,_ I _don't. You know why?"

"Because you keep_ talking_ to her?" Rachel asked, referring to _herself_ in this situation more than anything. As much as she wanted her friend to be able to talk to her – why couldn't this wait for just a few hours?

"Because I feel like a guest in my own home. I am so tired, yet for some reason, I get up before Lucas and make him a really nice breakfast. I would never do that otherwise, it's every man for himself in the mornings." Brooke concluded. She really wasn't a morning person, so this was entirely unusual for her.

"Why don't you just tell Lucas you don't feel at home?"

"I don't even know what would make me feel more at home." Brooke mumbled. "Apart from a smaller bed. A smaller bed where I can actually reach out and _feel_ Lucas beside me."

"Brooke, I empathise, I do and I want to discuss this best friend to best friend after I sleep because I just spent 16 hours in surgery—"

Suddenly, Rachel could hear light snoring noises from beneath her. She looked down and saw that Brooke was fast asleep.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me." Rachel said as she flopped back down on her pillow, covering her ears to block out the noise.

* * *

That night, Lucas arrived home and walked into the living room to see Brooke sitting on the sofa, with Sophie sleeping in her baby chair as Brooke gently rocked it with her foot.

"Shh, she's finally sleeping" Brooke told him as he sat beside them.

"Shouldn't she be in her crib or something?"

"I don't care, as long as she's sleeping. I feel like if I stop this she'll wake up." Brooke explained.

Lucas nodded; "Probably. I'll go put the game on in the other room—"

"Hey, can we talk?" Brooke said, stopping him before he went any further.

"Now?"

"Or, whenever—" Brooke said awkwardly. This wasn't like them, being so weird with one another and it was driving them both insane.

Lucas pinched the bridge of his nose; "Brooke this has got to stop."

"What?"

"You walking on egg shells in this house. You can't even talk to me normally—"

Brooke let out a breath, relieved that he'd picked up on the awkwardness too; "I know, that's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh. Ok."

"I don't feel like this is home anymore. I make you breakfast every morning… I've never even made _myself_ a proper breakfast before this."

"Yeah, it's weird…" Lucas agreed as he moved closer towards her. She really wasn't much of a cook.

"_Right_? And there's just—there's too much of my former house mates here." She said with a grimace.

"What?"

"It's full of junk from when we were young and care free. It's not a family home, it's basically an abandoned _frat house_, and that bed—that bed is _horrible_." She confessed as her body shivered.

Lucas raised his eyebrows; "Our bed is horrible?"

"Yes, it's _way_ too big, it just feels so_ empty_… I miss my old bed." She said with a pout.

Lucas nodded; "Your old bed was comfortable…"

"So I have a proposition. This weekend, let's revamp this house. Let's make it ours. So we can start laughing and having sex in the morning again… if the sleep deprivation doesn't kill me. She's stronger than me, so it probably will—"

Lucas chuckled; "Nah, she's double teamed…" he said as he ran his hands over her shoulders.

"And we can compromise on who gets up with Sophie at night until she gets into a less ridiculous sleep schedule" She said. Her appointment with Johnson had gone well today and she was fully healed – it was time Lucas accepted that and let her get on like normal.

"Absolutely."

Brooke looked down at Sophie and smiled; "She slept through this entire conversation."

"She can be quiet when she wants to be." Lucas said with a proud smile.

"Just not when we want her to be… we'll work this out." Brooke said with certainty.

"Yeah. We will."


	25. Tongue-Tied

**So glad you guys enjoyed the last chapter! I figured we were due something a little lighter amongst all the drama... just to be clear though - Brooke in no way resents Sophie or doesn't want to bond with her and spend time with her - she just really misses surgery! There's not much excitement in a newborn, but I'm sure she'll feel differently when Sophie does more than poo, sleep and eat lol it was just a funny little interlude, she loves her baby immensely!**

**Brooke and Lucas aren't getting along so well in this chapter... but it won't be for long. Time to meet two more members of Lucas' family! **

**Enjoy :)**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Five – Tongue-Tied**

A few weeks later, Brooke was back at work and was keener to get stuck in than ever. She didn't realise how much the time away from the hospital would affect or, or how much she would miss the stink and sweat of surgery. She immediately got in on some big neurosurgeries that she knew would look good on her application for her neuro fellowship that was due in soon.

Since numerous residents had dropped out of the programme over the past few years, Karen and the Scott foundation had been desperately looking for ways to revamp the programme so that the residents felt they were learning in a secure and stimulating environment. After some thought and consultation with the rest of the board, Karen had an idea. Her niece Lindsey Strauss was a paediatric surgeon, but had also done a significant amount of research into what makes residency programmes work and thrive in such a high stress environment, so after a little bit of coaxing, Karen managed to convince Lindsey to come to Raleigh Med and make things better.

Everyone was excited for a fresh and invigorating start – everyone expect Lucas. He and Lindsey had never really seen eye to eye growing up. When Brooke asked Lucas about her, he didn't really say much.

"_It's the same in every family – there are some cousins you do get on with and some you don't. There's was no big fall out or anything, just a clash of personalities."_

"_That's so boring Lucas, at least make up something interesting..."_

Lucas had merely chuckled and told Brooke not to worry about it, which just made her more curious.

"Brooke, you really know nothing about this girl?" Rachel asked the morning Lindsey was due to start as she, Brooke, Nathan and Haley all sat in the resident's lounge.

"Why would I know anything?" Brooke asked.

Rachel looked at her like she was insane, "Oh, I don't know Brooke, maybe because your hospital owning baby daddy is her cousin?"

"He just said she has a bold personality" Brooke said with a shrug.

"Yeah, I heard she revamped a programme down in Tampa and it was chaotic" Nathan told them, recalling what an old friend from med school had told him. "People were being fired at an alarmingly fast rate but – it worked. The programme is better than ever."

"I guess we'll have to be on our A game then" Brooke commented as she lifted her white coat and left the room. As she turned through the doorway, she accidentally bumped into someone and looked up to see Peyton in front of her, looking a little distressed at whatever was on her phone. Brooke, Peyton and Lucas had never really been able to form a resemblance of a friendship over the past year. They were civil, there were no fights, but there were certainly no niceties in the hallways.

"Oh, Davis, thank god" Peyton said as she let out a breath.

"Everything ok?" Brooke asked cautiously. She never thought she would see the day that Peyton Sawyer was glad to see her.

"Do you know how to work these stupid dating apps?" Peyton asked. "It won't stop making a noise and it is driving me _insane! _I was just being a little spontaneous cause god knows there are no eligible men left in this hospital, but I am having some serious regrets right about now." She grumbled as she handed Brooke her phone.

Brooke scrolled through the app and looked at Peyton, impressed with what she was seeing. "You've got a lot of messages Sawyer… are you going to reply?"

"Um… maybe. I don't know. Not to all of them anyway. Will they know if I don't reply?" she asked desperately.

Brooke chuckled, "You mean – will they know you're not interested when you ignore them? Yeah, I think they'll get the message… oh this guy is cute, he wants to go for a drink, you should do it!" Brooke encouraged. Since her own love life had finally fallen into place, she was all for others finding their happily ever after.

"God, I feel like I'm back in high school again, this is so stupid." Peyton said as she took the phone back off her and stormed away.

"Let me know how it goes!" Brooke called after her, surprising herself by how invested she all of a sudden felt in Peyton's love life. She figured if Peyton found someone she really clicked with, she might lighten up a little...

"How what goes?" she heard Lucas say behind her, causing her to jump a little.

"Oh, nothing" she brushed off, knowing Lucas probably wouldn't care. "What's up?"

"I was just going to meet Lindsey in the lobby. Mom said as hospital owner I should be putting on a united front and besides all that – she's my cousin. Family supports family…" he said, reciting Karen's words to him.

"You sound thrilled" Brooke said as she started following him to the lobby.

"She's just so controlling and in your face. It's either her way or the highway and that's not going to go down well here." Lucas reasoned. "There are too many strong characters with strong opinions, she has to be willing to listen."

"Ok, sure, but there are also a lot of people who are really open to change. The residency programme is floundering Lucas, people are leaving, it needs a kick up the ass" Brooke reminded him.

"I know… but why does it have to get a kick up the ass from _her_?" he asked. He was telling the truth when he said there was no real beef between them. There was no big fall out or anything – they just didn't really gel as people.

Brooke linked her hand around Lucas' arm, "I know it's frustrating… but you're going to have to put your big boy pants on and deal with it" she teased as she kissed his cheek and he rolled her eyes.

"You're mean…" he commented just as the got to the lobby. The elevator doors pinged open and Lindsey came striding though – basically like she owned the place.

"Damn, she's hot…" Brooke commented as Lucas grimaced.

"Lucas" Lindsey greeted as she stopped in front of her cousin. "It's good to see you" she said rather formally as Brooke looked awkwardly between the two. You could cut the tension with a _knife. _Lucas discreetly put his arm around Brooke's back, who in turn reached her hand round to give him something to squeeze in frustration.

"Lindsey… thank you for coming to help us out, we really appreciate it." Lucas said as Brooke held back a laugh. She could tell by his clenched jaw and the tightness of his hand hold that he said that with great reluctance. "This is Dr. Brooke Davis, 5th year resident."

Lindsey smirked, "Ah, the girlfriend…"

"… and 5th year resident" Brooke repeated as she shook Lindsey's hand with her free hand. As much as she loved being Lucas' girlfriend, she would rather be known as Brooke Davis first and foremost.

"I've heard a lot about you. You're top of your class and will no doubt go on to do great things" Lindsey complimented as Brooke smiled politely. "And I believe congratulations are in order too. Karen sent me some photos of your daughter. She's really beautiful."

"Thank you" Brooke replied with a smile. She couldn't help but smile whenever someone mentioned Sophie. "I should get back to work, but it was nice to meet you Lindsey, I'll look forward to working with you" she said before walking away, leaving Lucas wishing he still had something to squeeze on to.

"She's cute" Lindsey told Lucas as he held himself back from saying something rude. He wasn't exactly looking for her approval.

"So" he began, turning the conversation back to work, "What's your plan of action?"

"I have a list" she said vaguely.

Lucas quirked an eyebrow, "A list? What kind of list?"

"A list of the top residents and their favourite attendings. It's based on what your mother and the former training director has observed." She told him as she handed him the list. Lucas looked at it and smirked. He was up there at the top. "I want to work on improving those relationships and really giving the residents a chance to shine by doing. It's becoming too common that attendings aren't teaching just because they want to show off. The residents need the opportunity to practice otherwise they're not going to be as good as the attendings one day."

"Well, I can't wait to see what you try and do" Lucas told her, curious to see where this was going.

"It's going to be great Lucas. You can count on that."

* * *

That night, Lucas was sitting in the living room watching some football when Brooke came and slumped beside him.

"You're interested in the game now?" he questions, remembering her moaning not 5 minutes ago about how he was more interested in the game than in her.

"No, I'm interested in these nachos…" she said as she tried to take the cheesiest one, but Lucas slapped it out of her hand. These were _his_ game nachos and he'd be damned if he let her take the best one.

"Watch it…" he warned as Brooke chuckled as sat back in her seat.

"You know—Peyton asked me earlier if I knew how to work a dating app. She must have been desperate if she had to ask me." Brooke told him.

Lucas frowned; "How would you know how to work dating apps?" as far as he was aware, she'd never had the time between relationships to use it.

Brooke shrugged; "I'm a young professional, I know how dating apps work."

"Seriously?"

"Don't sound so surprised..."

"When would you have time to know how they work?"

"I know you probably find this hard to believe, but—I have single friends." She said in a sarcastic manner as Lucas rolled his eyes. "And we hang out every now and they use dating apps, so we talk about the people that they meet on these dating apps."

"You're right. I do find it hard to believe that you have friends." He teased as he scoffed the best nacho she had previously tried to take.

Brooke lightly slapped his arm as she took the bowl from him. "You're so annoying sometimes..."

Lucas smirked; "That's why you love me right?"

"I love you because you make good nachos."

"And yeah, Peyton was talking to me about her dates too." Lucas told her as Brooke eyed him curiously. She was surprised that Peyton would turn to Lucas with something like this. She must have been _really_ desperate. "She said she had to fake pages from the hospital on multiple dates to get out of them."

Brooke grimaced. "That is _rough_… I wonder if Jagelski is still single. They were good together... for all 5 minutes that they were actually together…" she added as Lucas quirked an eyebrow.

"You're going to play match maker for Peyton now?"

Brooke smiled; "We're all adults, with crazy working schedules and little time to date and I have a lot of room in my heart for forgiveness and growth so if I can help Peyton Sawyer—I'll do it."

"You—are a_ saint_." Lucas teased.

Brooke fluttered her eyelashes; "Why thank you."

Brooke sighed; "You know, I'm probably going to regret asking this, but why has your ego taken a sky-high boost today?" she asked as she set her computer down. She'd noticed that after they met Lindsey in the morning, he was walking around the hospital with an inflated sense of self.

"The residents think I'm a good attending."

Brooke raised her eyebrows; "Do they now?"

"Yeah. Lindsey has a list, I'm at the top."

"I'm going to just pretend I know what that means" Brooke said with a little laugh. "We had a meeting with Lindsey today. It felt like a strategy session, it was kind of weird… she wanted us to divulge all our secrets."

"What secrets?"

"If I told you they wouldn't be secrets then, would they?" Brooke asked with a teasing smirk as Lucas rolled his eyes and say up straighter. Why wouldn't she want to tell him what Lindsey was planning? Why couldn't she just be honest with him about it all?

"Why is it all so secretive?"

"Because you're going to run back to the other attendings with whatever I tell you, I am not your inside man, I have boundaries and I am not crossing them, so you and the inner posse can ruin what your mom is trying to do." Brooke reasoned with him. If it were the other way around, she knew Lucas wouldn't tell her either.

"I don't want to ruin what they're trying to do, I just don't want her completely changing what makes this hospital what it is." He reasoned. "I've worked hard to keep the hospital on people's radars. We're the best surgical hospital in the state and we got there _without_ Lindsey. What is so bad about wanting to keep things the way they are?"

"Why keep things the way that they are when they can get better?" Brooke challenged. "Lindsey really wants the residents to get involved in surgeries, to let us do it rather than just watch the rest of you show off." She and Lindsey may have had a rough start, but she was liking where Lindsey wanted to take the hospital because it meant she got in on more surgeries.

"We're not showing off Brooke, we're being cautious, these are people's lives we're talking about, it's not something to be played around with."

"And we're never going to learn if we don't do."

"You can still get a good surgical education without following Lindsey around like a puppy." He was doing just fine without the Lindsey Strauss education plan. In fact, he was doing great!

Brooke glared; "I follow _no one_ around like a puppy."

"Well it looks like that's about to change."

"God, this is so stupid!" Brooke exclaimed as she stood up, getting more and more worked by the second. She couldn't understand how he was being so stubborn and arrogant about things. Lindsey wasn't trying to undermine the good work he was doing, she was just trying to add to it. "You're getting on like a child Lucas, fighting with Lindsey and trying to get all the attendings on your side, it's ridiculous! You should be sorting this out like adults not trying to score points at every available opportunity." She knew Lucas and she knew his arrogant side. If there was a chance to outshine Lindsey, he would take it.

"I'm not trying to score points—" Lucas said as he set the nachos down beside him.

"The surgeries you are doing are slowly becoming about you which is_ not_ why we do this. We don't do it for the ego boost, we do it to make a difference in people's lives and I know you believe that too." She pleaded as Lucas remained silent. "Go ahead and use the Scott name Lucas – but do something worthwhile with it. Don't massage your own ego." She warned sadly, wishing Lucas wouldn't throw the Scott name around and actually fix things for the better.

* * *

Things were incredibly tense between Brooke and Lucas for the rest of the evening and the following day. Neither had anything good to say to the other and they just needed a second to breathe, so they said nothing. They were completely silent, only engaging in conversation if it had to do with Sophie.

The following evening, after a long day of avoiding each other at work, Lucas sat on his laptop in the living room, looking through some scans of a patient he had to visit in Maine. She needed a throat transplant and Lucas had planned to fly out with Brooke to complete it. That is if she was still willing to even associate with him after the previous day.

She walked into the living room with a basket of washing and began folding everything while looking over Lucas's shoulder.

"That's a nasty throat tumour." Brooke observed as Lucas merely nodded his head and replied with a "Yeah."

They fell into an uncomfortable silence, before Lucas sighed, closed his computer over and stood up, but Brooke was not prepared to let him walk away from this.

"Lucas, what is going on with you?"

He shrugged; "I'm going to bed."

"Lucas—"

"Brooke, you might be ok with sitting around and letting this happen, but I'm not." Lucas said.

"_Letting _this happen? Why can't you see or accept that Lindsey is not the enemy here!" Brooke exclaimed. She eyed Lucas curiously. He had been mad and frustrated yesterday, but today, there was something different in his eyes. He looked sad and afraid. She had a funny feeling that his bad mood had more to do with Lindsey.

"Lucas" she said quietly as she walked towards him and placing a hand on the side of his neck and face. "Talk to me. What is going on with you?" she asked quieter than last time, wishing that he could just be honest with her.

Lucas shook his head and took a step back in an attempt to physically and emotionally distance himself from her. "I uh – I need to check in on a few things in the hospital in the morning, so I'll just meet you at the airport so we can go to Maine."

Brooke closed her eyes and let out a breath, "Why are we going all the way to Maine for this?"

"Because they need us to Brooke!" he snapped as Brooke glared at him.

_"Fine._" She said through her teeth before storming upstairs, not prepared to deal with him if he wouldn't just talk to her.

* * *

Lucas said beside Karen in the back of a car the following morning. His mood hadn't changed from yesterday and Karen knew exactly why. There was another reason that Lucas was going to Maine. It wasn't just about this patient. The patient was a convenient excuse to find out the truth – but she didn't dare bring it up. She didn't want to start a fight.

"If you're having second thoughts we could bring the patient here?" Karen offered as she and Lucas drove to the airport. Brooke had arranged to meet them there with Sophie, so Karen could take her and look after her for a few days.

"I told you, we've got a girl who needs a throat transplant and a donor in the same exact hospital. We can't risk moving either of them." Lucas reminded her, as she merely nodded, questioning whether all of this could really be a good thing.

They arrived on the runway, just as Brooke's taxi pulled up as the simultaneously got out of the car. Brooke went around to the other side to get Sophie, while Lucas stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked towards her.

"Did you get things sorted with Mr Rosenbaum?" Brooke asked, hence why they travelled separately.

"Yeah, yeah I did." Lucas said as he took Sophie from Brooke as she moved to the taxi to life her bag.

"You two are going to have to speak to each other you know." Karen told them, knowing that things had been difficult for the past while.

"Mom—" Lucas warned as Karen raised her hands in surrender.

"Alright, fine, no meddling."

"I'll put her in the car…" Lucas said as he reached to take her car seat, but Karen came and took Sophie from him.

"Lucas, _go_, Miss Sophie and I have plans." Karen said as she cooed at her granddaughter.

"No medical journals, alright? I don't need her looking at body cavities just yet..." Lucas playfully warned.

"Oh no guarantees…" Karen teased. "Say bye to mommy and daddy Soph."

"Bye baby" Lucas said as he gave her a kiss and Brooke did the same before they both got on to the Scott private jet.

"Can I take your bag Dr. Davis?" the stewardess immediately asked as Brooke gratefully smiled, handed it to her and said thank you.

"This is _amazing_. Why have we never taken your plane before?" Brooke asked as they sat down beside each other.

"It's not my plane."

"That's your name right out there. Right on the wing, great big letters—_broody boy_." Brooke teased as Lucas sighed.

"Funny… it's more my mom's plane than mine. It belongs to the Scott Foundation and she is the chair since my grandpa is arguably _insane_." Lucas commented. Royal Scott really had not mellowed over the years.

"I mean—she did make the Scott Foundation what it is, it seems right that she should get to fly wherever she wants."

"Suck up…" Lucas grumbled as Brooke narrowed her eyes.

"I am not a suck—"

"Can we not talk about my mother?" Lucas interrupted. Getting into a fight about his mother was not how he wanted to start this trip.

"_Fine."_ Brooke said through his teeth, just as the stewardess brought over a tray of champagne. "Thank _god,_ just what I needed—" Brooke said as she went to take a glass.

"You shouldn't have any champagne, we're going straight to the hospital." Lucas said bluntly.

Brooke set the glass back down; _"Fine."_ She said through her teeth once more, figuring this was going to be an annoyingly long day.

* * *

While Lucas was determined to help this little girl he had come to treat, he did have another agenda for being here. After seeing his patient and making plans for the surgery tomorrow, Brooke figured she and Lucas could use some down time, just the two of them. They needed to break this tension and start communicating.

"Look, we have tonight to prep for the surgery, I have somewhere that I need to be, I will find you later—" Lucas began as he started to walk away, clearly not interested in spending time with Brooke.

Brooke grimaced; "Where could you possibly need to be in _Maine?_" last time she checked, he didn't know anyone here.

"I'll find you later." He said, dodging her question before walking away, leaving Brooke just as frustrated. What the hell was she missing?

That night, Brooke was left in the hotel room studying for this surgery on her own. She had tried to convince Lucas to come back from wherever the hell he was with the enticement of Chinese food, but he stubbornly said no.

To make matters worse, Brooke had to rush to the hospital when she found out the donor had a lesion on his throat and couldn't be used. After the parents had refused a total laryngectomy, Brooke stormed out of the hospital to find Lucas. She was prepared to search every place in this damn town to find him if she had to—and she was doing so with full guns blazing. At the end of the day, she was the resident on this case and he was the attending - _He _should have been the one talking to their patient's parents, not Brooke.

Eventually, Brooke stumbled across a grill just outside town. It was in a more secluded area, with very few facilities around it, but the grill looked like it was popular. She was desperate for something to eat and had planned on briefly stepping in from the cold – but luck was on her side. She walked in and angrily sighed when she saw Lucas was sitting right there – with numerous empty beer glasses surrounding him.

"There you are, where have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you. I've been calling, texting—" Brooke said angrily as she approached him.

"Calm down, you sent _one_ text. No organs, no surgery, right?" Lucas said. "Didn't hear anything else after that so I figured I'd have a drink." He said as he lifted his phone. "Oh, battery died, now that's not very helpful now, is it?"

Brooke scoffed and folded her arms; "You're drunk."

_"You're_ pissed."

"Yeah. _I am_." She said defiantly. "We lost the donor, our patient's repeat scans show more extensive oesophageal invasion, her parents are a _wreck_ and you're here getting _drunk?_ Lucas—"

"I got off work and I had a beer Brooke. Four beers actually, and uh, some whiskey on top of that." Lucas said with a giggle.

Lucas rarely got drunk. In fact, Lucas _never_ got drunk these days. Why would he choose now to do so? "What the hell is wrong with you?!" Brooke demanded to know. She was done with the soft approach, it clearly wasn't working.

"Nothing. _Nothing_ is wrong with me."

"We have a patient who is counting on us—"

"Leave me alone Brooke." Lucas grumbled as he finished off his beer.

Brooke shook her head and looked at her feet; "This isn't you. You don't get wasted, you don't bail on patients—"

"I didn't bail on _anyone!"_ Lucas abruptly shouted as he slammed his glass down, causing Brooke to jump back.

"Ok, what's going on here? How about some food to soak up that beer?" a man asked as he approached the pair. He had immediately picked up on the hostile vibes between the pair and wanted to diffuse the situation before things got worse.

"No, he's going home to sober up. He has work, _right_?" Brooke said as she glared straight at Lucas.

"Well in that case let me call you a cab—"

"I'm walking." Lucas said as he lifted his coat, put some money down and stormed out the door. Brooke sighed as she ran her hand across her forehead, desperately trying to hold back her tears.

"Can I get you something?" the man asked.

"I'm good, thank you." Brooke said before turning to the door.

"He left this book." The man said as he lifted it up and looked at the cover. "Techniques in oropharyngeal surgery. Hm. Airway reconstruction?" he asked.

Brooke eyed him curiously; "Uh, throat transplant."

The man nodded his head and handed the book to Brooke, "I used to be a surgeon – but that was many lifetimes ago." He explained with a smile.

"Really? You gave all that up for this?" she asked with a little laugh. Working in a secluded grill in Maine was a fair cry from the rush of being a surgeon in her eyes.

"Well, this is not all that different. People come to you in need, you provide them with a bit of TLC. They leave here feeling better than when they came. Hospitality isn't such a bad business to be in." he said with a smile. Brooke soon picked up that this guy must have owned the place as he said goodnight to some locals as they left. "Plus there's no 24 hour shifts and nobody had died on my watch – not yet anyway. It was nice to meet you, Dr.—" he said holding out his hand.

"Davis. Brooke Davis." Brooke said with a smile as she shook the man's hand. There was something so_ familiar_ about him. She couldn't place what it was, it was something about the eyes—

"Dan Scott."

Brooke eyes widened as she dropped her hand like she had been burned; "_Scott? _I'm—I'm sorry, like the foundation?" she asked cautiously. She already knew the answer, but she wanted to hear it from his mouth.

Dan chuckled; "Once upon a time. Come by any time Brooke, have a drink on me." he offered with a smile as Brooke could barely process this whole situation.

"I—I will." Brooke said as Dan walked behind the bar again and Brooke took a breath before walking out the door. This whole thing felt surreal and she couldn't imagine what Lucas was feeling right now. She couldn't believe it.

_She had just met Lucas's father._

* * *

**Oh man... what now?!**


	26. Arms of an Angel

**So Lucas isn't in Maine just for his patient... what's he going to do now?! Read on to find out...**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Six – Arms of an Angel**

Lucas rushed down the street and eventually caught up with Lucas. It was really cold outside and she was trying desperately not to slip on the ice that was already forming from the previous day's snow.

"Lucas!" she called, but he just kept walking. "God, _Lucas!_ You are going to feel_ so_ guilty when I fall and crack my head open on the pavement, all because you didn't bother your _ass_ to stop and help me!" she exclaimed as Lucas finally stopped where he stood. He didn't turn around, rather he let Brooke come to him.

"Well, at least I know some part of you still cares…" she snarked as Lucas turned around to face her.

"Can we not do this Brooke?"

"Why are we here Lucas?" she asked as Lucas remained silent. He figured she probably knew the truth by now, but he wasn't sure he could say it out loud. "Our surgery has been botched, but it probably wouldn't have been if we'd transported her to Raleigh. So why are we here?"

"We're going to find a fix for this little girl." Lucas said, desperately trying to avoid the issue at hand. It wasn't that he didn't want to talk to Brooke about this, he just didn't know how. He didn't know how to talk about it without losing his head and getting stupidly emotional.

Brooke let out a breath. "And how are you going to do that? We have no throat Lucas and no better idea either."

"… I don't know. But I'll find one."

"What is the matter with you? Why are you torturing this poor girl with promises you know we can't deliver on?" she asked. Her parents were desperate to transport her to a new hospital where another surgeon said he had a fix, but Lucas didn't want to let that happen. He needed to come up with this fix himself. Otherwise, this trip would just be added to the ever-growing pile of bad memories and regretful choices.

"We can find a way to deliver—"

"_Where?_ Where are you going to find it? At this stupid grill?" Brooke challenged as Lucas froze.

"What?" he asked quietly.

"When were you going to tell me that you'd found your father? Your _father_ Lucas, your long-lost dead-beat dad, the distinguished hash slinger, grill owning, former surgeon Dr. Scott. He's the whole reason we're here!" she exclaimed. Lucas hadn't said much to Brooke about his father. Just that he left when be was really little and that what that. Lucas didn't have the answers himself, so how could he give them to Brooke?

Lucas gulped; "I came here to help our patient."

"_Don't_ lie to me. We are only here because of your freaking father and now that kid is going to die." Brooke said, her emotions getting the better of her. "Why didn't you just tell me Luke? I could have been there for you, I could have helped you." she asked quietly. In a split second, she felt her anger subdue. Now she was just worried. That fear she saw in his eyes last night had been about this visit. This was a huge deal and something he was clearly struggling with, understandably so. He hadn't seen his father in over 25 years. Why did he want to see him now?

"I—I don't know." He replied quietly. "I'm really unsure about a lot of things Brooke. I was sitting in that grill tonight and I just thought maybe, just maybe, he'd look at me and know who I was. He'd recognise my face or my eyes, just something… but nothing. He said 'Hey, how's it going?' as I walked through the door and that was it. It was like I was nobody to him… and it hurt me more that I thought it would." He didn't know what he wanted from Dan when he got here, but apparently it was more than a casual greeting.

Brooke walked forward and rested her hand on the back of Lucas's neck, delicately running her thumb over the base of his hair line "So talk to him. Get what you came here for."

"I wanted to. I have a million things to say to that guy. I wanted to tell him that he was an ass for walking out on his kid and his wife. He couldn't hack it as a Scott, well join the club. It hasn't exactly been smooth sailing for me. I wanted to ask him why he didn't just show up. Why he didn't just send a birthday card. Why was there _nothing_? Why didn't he want to know me?" he confessed.

Brooke nodded and thought for a moment before considering her next words. It was a rarity that Lucas would stand before her so broken—and_ her_ heart broke _for_ him. In her mind, she had the best dad in the world, and she wished with all her heart that he could have that. But for now, Lucas needed to stand in front of Dan Scott and say his piece.

"So make him know you." Brooke said as Lucas looked at her curiously.

Brooke took his hand and pulled him back towards the grill.

"Brooke, what are you doing?" he asked as they stood outside the door. Brooke turned to look at him and took his hands in hers. "I can't do this."

"Yes, you can." She said with a lot of conviction in her voice. "I have been racking my brain all day trying to work out why you wanted me to come with you on this trip, especially when you were so mad at me yesterday… and now it makes sense. I think you brought me here over anybody else because you knew you needed me for this. You needed your rock, just like I have always needed mine. I am _right here_ Lucas. Say what you need to say."

It had all become clear to Brooke when she realised the true purpose behind this visit. He brought her because she was his love, his person, his _Brooke_. He needed her through this, even if he didn't want to tell her. Considering the contentious state of their relationship since Lindsey's arrival, she didn't blame him for not wanting to be vulnerable.

Lucas finally took a breath and walked towards the door, while Brooke walked over to sit on a bench nearby. Even if she got a pneumonia from sitting out here, it would be entirely worth it for Lucas to do what he needed to do.

* * *

A short while later, Lucas had stormed out of the diner, refusing to talk about what happened in there. Brooke realised it was probably best to let him cool down for a bit before approaching the topic again. He had to do this on his own terms. They went back to the hotel and fell straight to sleep, before waking up the next morning and going to straight to the hospital to find their fix.

While Brooke set up their things, Lucas went and bought some coffee. When he came back into the room, he immediately lay down on the sofa with his back to Brooke—as if this was some kind of therapy session.

"We've got to come up with something to save this girl's voice. There's got to be something, right?" Lucas immediately asked, but Brooke had a question of her own.

"Do you want to talk about it? What happened with your dad?" she asked.

"Maybe we could do a staged procedure. I could remove tumour now and we could wait on a transplant donor—" Lucas said, avoiding her questions yet again. But he suddenly sighed and began opening up, "Yeah. Yeah we talked a lot." He said, as Brooke's head shot up, surprised that he was willing to talk. "About how hard it was being a Scott and surgery and—temporary stent?" he suggested as his mind drifted.

"Erosion and bleeding." She said, shaking her head.

_"Crap._ He was just so damn _polite_ and I just kind of clammed up. I didn't really say anything. He was just like—_warm_. He was _happy_. I kind of hated him for being happy. He didn't say anything about me, just kind of talked about himself. His life sounds pretty mundane, he basically spends all day every day at that dinner. Pretty much the opposite of what it's like to be part of the Scott surgical dynasty. It's like he didn't even want to know or care what my life was like. I felt really stupid. It never occurred to me that after all this time, he didn't even miss me a little bit." he rambled, just needing to get all of this off his chest. It was the strangest conversation and he couldn't quite pin down why.

"You don't know that—"

"I do now. I really do. It didn't even occur to him to pretend. How do you go up to a guy and tell them what an ass they've been when they're just smiling at you and talking about how great their life has been in some diner in Maine? I just stood there with my stomach in knots—"

Lucas suddenly sprang upright as if an idea had hit him.

"What?" Brooke asked cautiously as Lucas nodded his head.

"I have an idea. Our patient, she needs a valve, something to flop between her oesophagus and her tracea… and we can make her one, we can make her one using her own guts. I could use her appendix and make her a vocal tube and valve – we can use her own insides to save her life." He said optimistically as his smile rose and Brooke's did too.

Brooke's face beamed with joy "and she'd be her own donor… that's remarkable. Do you really think it will work?"

"No. I mean_ maybe_. I mean _yeah_. Yeah I really think it will." He said, finally giving a confident yes.

* * *

It didn't take much to convince their patient's parents to consent to the surgery. They had a very detailed plan and they trusted in Brooke and Lucas to do the job well. That night, they happily returned to their hotel following the surgery. Everything had gone exceptionally well, they just had to wait for the little girl to wake up before they could see if they had been successful.

Lucas groaned as they walked to their door; "I am so tired I could drop."

"And yet I am so awake!" Brooke said happily. "That was—" she couldn't even put into words how incredible that was. Her body was pumped full of adrenaline and she didn't think she would be coming down from her high any time soon.

"I know." Lucas simply replied.

While Lucas lifted their room key out of his pocket, Brooke checked her phone to see if they had any pages from the hospital.

"Don't even bother, they'll let us know when she's awake. It's going to be a couple of hours anyway." Lucas told her.

"Right…" she said as she put her phone away and stood opposite him by the door, just a breath apart. "I guess we should sleep." She said quietly.

Lucas nodded; "Yeah. I guess so. Or… we could celebrate." He suggested as he slowly lowered his head and kissed her softly. It felt like a lifetime since they had kissed and, in that moment, they regretted_ nothing_ more. It was like electricity pumping through their veins, it felt like the most powerful thing in the world.

They pulled back for a brief moment before Lucas cupped her face and kissed her with everything in him. Lucas's hands slipped down her back as Brooke's hands wrapped around his neck. In one swift movement, Lucas had lifted her and she expertly and rhythmically snapped her legs around his waist. He buried his face in her neck as he carried her into their room, ready to show her just how much he loved her.

* * *

The sun had begun to rise on their evening activities as Brooke lay across Lucas's chest, their legs tangled as Lucas played with her hair and Brooke admired the beautiful view from the window. They hadn't slept a wink since arriving back at the hospital, yet they felt so awake and alive.

"You were right." Lucas said, breaking them out of their comfortable and still silence. "About why I asked you here… even if I didn't realise it. I needed back up. I knew I'd see him and I'd just—I'd need you. I'd need my person. I just have the biggest fear that because my dad was crap, it's embedded in my DNA and I'm going to let Sophie down… and it would just kill me if I ever let that happen."

Brooke turned around so she could see him, resting her palms on his chest, and her chin on her hands. "Lucas, I know what a good father is. I had one my whole life and we may have had a few problems along the way… but I never doubted his love and I have never doubted your love for Sophie. You are a_ good_ father. You love her more than I could ever ask of you – you love _me_ more than I ever thought possible – and you've never stopped. _He_ couldn't do that. You came here to tell him something. Don't leave until you say it." She encouraged.

Lucas looked down in wonder at the woman in front of him. He didn't think it was possible to feel love like this. He didn't think it was possible to crave someone's company and love like this. He couldn't even bare to imagine a life without Brooke Davis in it.

"… marry me." He said quietly as Brooke sat up quickly.

"_What?"_

"Marry me." He said again, slightly louder.

"Lucas—"

"I'm serious, marry me." He said again.

Brooke shook her head; "You're emotional—"

Lucas got out of bed and lifted his bag. He rummaged through it before finding what he was looking for. Brooke's eyes widened as he lifted out a little black box.

"Oh my god…"

"I have been carrying this around with me for _weeks_. I didn't know when I was going to do it, I just knew that I wanted to. More than _anything_. I am so sorry for how I have treated you the past few days. You were being the voice of reason, as usual and I shut you down—but you're right. I have never stopped loving you and I never will. I meant it when I said you were my light. You always will be. So—"

Lucas then got down on one knee by the edge of the bed and opened the box. Brooke let out a tiny gasp when she saw the ring. Is was_ beautiful._ It was understated, yet dazzling and just perfect for her.

"Brooke Penelope Davis—will you marry me?"

* * *

Lucas took Brooke's advice later that afternoon. She was right—he shouldn't leave here before saying what he needed to say. They had already been to see their patient and the surgery was a success. She could speak. She needed some rehab to help and she was due to fly to Seattle as soon as she was well enough to do so for a check-up. Everyone was overjoyed by the success and Lucas and Brooke were incredibly proud. Seeing Dan Scott one last time was the last thing they had to do. He wasn't here to gain a father, but rather, to gain closure on the thoughts he had about the loss of one. He was also determined to tell Dan about his life. He may not have cared whether he was ok or not, but this was more for Lucas. So he could say out loud that he was doing amazingly without him.

"You met my girlfriend the other night—Brooke and uh—we have a daughter. Sophie." Lucas told his father when he went to see him later that day.

Dan smiled widely at him; "Sophie. Wow. Lucas, that is wonderful. I'm a grandfather" he said with a chuckle.

"No. No, you're not." Lucas said as Dan's face fell. "My mom is a wonderful grandmother and you seem like a decent guy, but you're _not_ a grandfather. You're not my father. I figure when you have a kid you're making a promise to always be there and you couldn't do that. You made no promises. That's the real difference between you and me." he had finally come to terms with the fact that this man wasn't his father. There was more to being a parent that just DNA. They weren't the same, they were strikingly different - and Lucas could not be more relieved. He could say he'd met the man and he could say that he'd left appreciating his insignificance.

"Look, Lucas. The Scott life wasn't for me and I'm not going to apologise for giving it up." Dan said bluntly. He had been polite to Lucas when he arrived and all in all, he was grateful that he could see him again. Just to see that his life had turned out ok. To see that he hadn't crumbled under the pressure of being a Scott - but just like Dan wasn't a part of Lucas' life, Lucas wasn't a part of his, and that's just the way it was. He didn't choose to dwell on it, and he wasn't about to make up some sorry excuse now. He wasn't meant to be a dad, but clearly Lucas was.

"Take care Dan. I'm really glad that I finally met you. Goodbye." Lucas said boldly, not even wanting to acknowledge Dan's comment. He took one last look at Dan before walking out of the diner with his head held high, proud that he had fought his greatest demon.

He stopped at the top of the steps when he spotted Brooke standing there. Her hair blew across her face as she lifted her hand to move it behind her ear—the diamond ring the graced her finger sparkling in the sun.

Her face broke to a wide smile when she saw him and he couldn't help but return it. He walked towards her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed her head.

"Let's go home" he said as they walked through the snow.

* * *

Soon enough, Brooke and Lucas had arrived back in Raleigh and hurried off the plane to see Sophie. As expected, she and Karen were already waiting for them on the runway.

"There they are, mommy and daddy!" Karen happily said as they approached.

"Hey, thanks grandma" Lucas said happily as he twirled Sophie's brown curls that rested on the base of her neck. She reached up her tiny hand to him and he smiled down at his baby as she latched on to his finger and he delicately kissed her hand.

"Everything go ok?" Karen asked, talking about more than just the surgery.

Lucas nodded; "Yeah, it was good." He said vaguely. Karen nodded, figuring Lucas would talk about it when he was ready. Instead, she turned to Brooke and she watched as Brooke lifted her hand to rub something out of her eye and gasped.

"My_ god_ Brooke Davis what is that on your finger?!" Karen exclaimed.

Lucas smirked; "Well I did say it was good…"

Karen smiled brightly; "Oh congratulations you two!" she said as she hugged and kissed them both. "Sounds like it was a much better trip than first anticipated…" she said with a raised eyebrow as Brooke and Lucas blushed. They were a little ashamed of his how mad they got at each other, but they were more than happy about where they ended up.

"Come on Soph" Brooke said as she took her daughter from Karen. "Daddy and grandma have a few things to talk about" she said before giving Lucas an encouraging wink and walking over to the car to strap Sophie in.

Lucas turned to Karen and tried to find the right words to say to her. He wasn't sure he could. He loved his mother with all his heart, but it took this trip to fully appreciate all that she had done for him. He would be forever grateful.

"Thank you." He simply said, knowing that it wasn't enough, but knowing he would be showing her that thankfulness for the rest of his life.

"What are grandmas for?" she joked, assuming he meant thank you for looking after Sophie.

"No, I mean. Just—just, _thank you_, mom. For _everything_." He said sincerely as he kissed her head.

Karen gave him a soft smile, now understanding what he meant and knew that perhaps the rest was left unspoken. She was glad he could have this closure with his father, and she was even gladder that he could come back here with a smile on his face and see all the worth in his life that no father could have given him.


	27. We'll Inherit the Earth

**Family troubles aren't stopping for Lucas any time soon... it's time for a visit from good old Royal Scott.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Seven – We'll Inherit the Earth**

The following morning, Brooke stood at the nurse's station in the surgical wing going through some patient files when Rachel walked around the corner and smiled when she saw her friend.

"Hey, how was your—oh my god, what is _that_?" Rachel said as she stared down at her ring with wide eyes.

Brooke furrowed her eyebrows and looked at what Rachel was looking at. _Oh yeah_. You'd think she still wouldn't be used to having that ring on her hand…

"Oh… yeah, I got engaged" she said as she held up her hand with an awkward smile, knowing Rachel might be mad that she didn't call her_ immediately_ after it happened.

"Shut _up." _Rachel said as she grabbed her hand with a wide mouth to get a good look at the ring.

"Surprise?" Brooke said as more of a question, not sure what Rachel was feeling with this reaction. Rachel soon broke out into a huge smile before squealing and hugging Brooke tightly.

"Congratulations!"

"Thank you it was—yeah. It was a good day. A _very _good day" She said as she couldn't hide her smile.

Rachel looked at her friend and saw that she was glowing. She was so immensely happy and that made her so immensely happy.

"You look so happy." She said softly.

"I mean—I am. I feel—_so good."_ She said calmly. It had been a while since she had felt so calm and not at all stressed about everything that was going on around them. She felt so peaceful and in love and so grateful.

"Why are we feeling good?" Kate asked as she and Nathan approached them.

"She's engaged!" Rachel happily blurted out as Kate and Nathan's eyes widened.

"Brooke Davis no you are _not_." Kate said as Brooke sheepishly held up her hand.

"I am…"

Kate pulled her hand towards her; "Wow, that is _blinding."_ She said as she inspected the princess cut, white gold engagement ring.

"Luke actually did it?" Nathan questioned.

Brooke quirked an eyebrow, "Uh – did you know about this?" the way he was talking, it was like he knew Lucas had been planning on doing this.

Nathan's eyes widened, realising that maybe wasn't what he was supposed to say. "I uh – I may have gone with him to choose the ring…"

"Oh my god, _Nathan_!" Brooke exclaimed with a laugh. "How did you keep that one quiet?!"

"The guy was nervous as _hell,_ I was there for moral support and believe me… it was getting annoying waiting around for him to actually do it, I'm glad he finally did."

"I can't believe you didn't call me right away!" Kate protested.

"It was an eventful few days and I wanted to tell you all in person…" Brooke reasoned. She didn't really have much on her mind other than Lucas when they were in Maine.

"We should have an engagement party." Kate said as Rachel furiously nodded her head in agreement.

"Oh you don't have to—"

"Yes, we do!" Kate insisted before smiling and pulling Brooke in for a hug. "Congratulations Brooke." She then turned to look at Rachel. "Ok Gatina, let's go you're with me today."

"Ok" Rachel said with a pout, wanting to talk all things engagements and weddings with Brooke a little longer. "I'll catch you at lunch" she said happily before following Kate away.

Nathan eyed Brooke curiously for a few moments as she smiled while scrolling through some charts on a tablet.

"Are you really going to do it?" Nathan asked as Brooke looked up at him.

"Do what?"

"Marry him."

"I mean yeah… that's kind of what being engaged means… why would that be a surprise to you?" Brooke asked with a little laugh. He knew all about Lucas' plans, yet he seemed concerned all of a sudded.

"I'm not surprised it's just—it's _weird_." He confessed.

Brooke frowned; "Why is it weird?"

"We've been through a lot together Brooke and I've seen you go through a lot, especially when it comes to guys and it's just – it's a_ good_ weird seeing you so happy and in love. You really deserve this." Nathan said sincerely. "Even if Lucas is a total jackass…" he Rachelked.

"Hey, you and Lucas are like brothers, he's your guy" Brooke reminded him. Nathan and Lucas really did get along so well, they knew they'd found a friend for life in each other.

"_You're_ my guy. _Always."_ He made clear as Brooke smiled sincerely at him. They really were like brother and sister and were determined to protect each other at all costs.

"Nathan, I have been through a lot of pain in my life, a lot of heartbreak and there is no way in_ hell_ I would set myself up for it again if I wasn't sure about this. I know he's screwed me over in the past, but this is different. I don't know how to describe it but—it is, it's just, _different._ And if he does screw me over again, I'll let you take the first punch." She Rachelked.

Nathan chuckled; "Deal. Congrats Davis." He said before walking on, confidently knowing that this was the right thing for Brooke.

* * *

Throughout the day, Brooke had received countless of congratulations and while they were happily received, her heart felt a little heavy. She took a moment as she walked into an empty lounge room and sat down, letting out a weary breath and running her hands through her hair.

Kate came into the room with a frown on her face, seeing that Brooke was clearly upset about something.

"Hey. You ok?" she asked.

"Yeah, I just—I just need to take a breather." She said quietly, looking down at her feet.

"What's going on?"

Brooke sighed before deciding to just tell Kate the truth; "Everyone's so happy for us. My mom, my brothers, you guys. Even people I don't know have been congratulating me in the hallways."

"Well it's a thing to be congratulated about." Kate said, not sure where Brooke was going with this.

"Yeah and it's—it's another thing my dad is not here to see. He won't get to walk me down the aisle or give a speech. He'll never get to see me when I get a fellowship. He'll never get to meet Sophie. He should be here for _all_ of this." She said as her voice choked, and she bit back her tears. Her emotions were incredibly heightened right now due to such a happy event taking place, so when she first thought of Ted, the weight of sadness hit her like a ton of bricks.

Kate nodded as she sat down beside Brooke and took her hand. "I know what he'd say if he was standing up there at your wedding. He'd say that he'd struggled with the speech. He'd struggled to find something to say about you. Not because there wasn't anything to say, but because there was so much to say. He wouldn't think he was being bias when he said you are one of the greatest girls out there. You are so loving, smart, beyond beautiful, funny, talented… _strong._ One of the hardest things he ever had to do was walking you down that aisle, but he did it with great pride, knowing that you couldn't have chosen a better man and he couldn't have chosen a better girl. Brooke Davis, you are so very loved by your husband, your family and your Raleigh Med family of course. Then he'd turn to Lucas and say Lucas, you are a good man who has looked after my daughter very well, and it is an honour to welcome you into our family. I know you will make Brooke very, very happy."

Brooke looked at Kate as she let a stray tear fall at her beautiful words. It was like she could hear Ted in them.

"Thank you" Brooke said in a barely there whisper, thankful that she was surrounded by people who loved Ted just as much as she did.

* * *

A few weeks later, Brooke walked into the hospital with Sophie strapped to her chest. She had a rare day off and was excited to spend it with her baby – yet somehow, she found herself back at the hospital, ready to sneak around and see what was going on. As much as she welcomed breaks from work, she loved the place too much and didn't want to feel like she was missing out on something. She made her way through the lobby of the surgical wing and found all the doctors and nurses had gathered there for some reason. She soon spotted Lucas who was standing awkwardly by the stairs.

"Hey" she greeted as she approached him.

Lucas frowned when he spotted his girls, "Hey, what are you going here?" he asked as he looked in on Sophie and saw she was fast asleep.

"Oh you know me, can't stand being out of the loop…" She said as she looked around her, trying to work out why everyone was here.

"Well you chose a good day to be nosey…" he said with a sigh. "My grandfather is visiting the hospital."

Brooke's eyes widened, not expecting that to be the reason everyone was here. She'd only seen Royal Scott a handful of times since his stay in the hospital a few years ago – and she couldn't say they were ever pleasant experiences. He was just a harsh man and difficult to get along with. No wonder Lucas was looking so shifty. He wasn't exactly looking forward to having his grandfather come here and say nothing positive about the work he had done in the hospital. He always managed to find something to complain about.

"Doesn't he hate crowds?" Brooke asked as Lucas nodded.

"Oh yeah. He's going to hate that everyone is standing around here and not working, but Piper insisted that we all be here to greet him. It's so stupid" he grumbled as Brooke gave him a sympathetic smile.

"Maybe he'll be ok with one this time…" she said as she fixed the collar of his white coat.

Lucas chuckled, "I appreciate your optimism pretty girl, but the man is a lost cause on the kindness front…"

The elevator doors soon opened and Royal appeared with Karen by his side. Piper moved forward to greet him, but before he could, Royal frowned at the group of people in front of him. Lucas stuck his hands in his pockets and sighed, knowing exactly what was coming next.

"Don't you people have jobs to do?" he demanded to know. "Karen, where is the conference room in this place?" He asked as he stormed through the crowd, not even acknowledging Lucas.

Brooke looked at Lucas with wide eyes and a pout, "Well ok then…"

"This is going to be a long day…" he grumbled before sulking away to face his grandfather.

Lucas made his way round to the conference room to find Piper, Karen and Royal already sitting at the table. Royal looked up and scoffed,

"This is the big boy's table Lucas, take a walk." He said. Lucas gritted his teeth, determined not to let his grandfather walk all over him. He had a majority share hold given to him by Royal, so he most certainly wasn't going anywhere. He needed to there for any conversation had about the hospital.

"Actually, you put me in charge of this hospital, so I'm staying." Lucas said as he defiantly sat beside Karen.

"… pastry?" Karen offered, wanted to ease the obvious tension in the room just a little bit.

* * *

Meanwhile, Brooke stood outside the conference room, bouncing a fussy Sophie up and down, when Rachel walked over and looked through the window with her.

"How long have they been in there?" Rachel asked, seeing how stressed they all looked.

"_Too long, _Lucas looks like he's about to sucker punch his grandpa…" Brooke observed with a grimace.

"Have you ever met him?"

"A couple of times. Mainly at family functions and official Scott Foundation business." Brooke explained. Lucas liked to stay clear of most of the Scott Foundation events because he thought they were a bit of a showcase that lacked heart, but he also knew he had a responsibility to his family and he and Brooke went to a few events upon occasion. If anything, it was an opportunity for free alcohol….

"The first family event Lucas brought me to, he tried to hit on me." Brooke said with a grimace as Rachel shivered.

"Guess the Scott men have a type…"

"I think Royal Scott's type is anything that has a _pulse_." Brooke grumbled. "I doubt he'd realise who I was if he met me right now, the man is—something else."

"Yeah, any time Lucas speaks of him, it's not with high regard."

"He's an incredibly difficult man who didn't show his grandson a lot of love." Brooke said sadly.

"Yet despite him, he is a good man." Rachel commented.

"The best." Brooke said as she smiled softly thinking about how proud she was of the man Lucas became despite the negative influence Royal had on his life and the disappearance of his father.

"I guess a lot of that is down to Karen too.""She's just the best mom to him." Brooke said with a chuckle. Lucas may not have had a father but he had a loving and good mother, which was all he needed to know how to be a good parent now. Not to mention Keith had been a wonderful influence on his life.

* * *

Back in the conference room, Lucas wished this meeting would be over and Royal would be on his way. He was making things unnecessarily difficult, especially when the hospital was doing so well. It was like he just needed something to complain about and couldn't value the lives they were changing and saving. Lucas couldn't understand why he had to come here and 'inspect' if he'd already made his mind up.

"What about this procedure?" he grumbled, handing out patient files of a risky surgery that was successfully completed in the general surgery department. "It cost hundreds of thousands of dollars." Royal said grumpily.

"You want us to apologise for saving a life?" Lucas asked in disbelief. "I'm not sure you can put a price on what we were able to do here, all lives matter, no matter the cost, that's what we're here for."

"Lucas, keep quiet." Royal said, not wanting to be stood up by his grandson.

"I own the majority shares of this hospital, it was bought under my name on behalf on the foundation—"

"Your _mother_ did this for you—"

"Yeah, for _me_, which means I have a say in what goes on here and if I decide a surgery is worth doing, then it's worth doing!"

"Enough!" Royal said, as Lucas fell quiet realising that there was no reasoning with this man. "This is no time for you to throw a tantrum Lucas. We'll talk tonight at dinner with the wife and child, choose some place nice." He demanded. As much as Lucas dreaded going to dinner with his grandfather tonight, a little part of him was dying to see Brooke take him on when he said something out of line. If he didn't stand for it, then Brooke certainly wouldn't.

Lucas sighed; "We're not married—"

"Right, your father's son, can't take any responsibility." Royal bit as Lucas clenched his jaw and stood up. Karen glared at him, telling him to sit back down with her eyes.

"_Right_." He said, before sulking back in his chair, not happy that he had to take this.

Karen narrowed her eyes at Royal, hating how he was treating Lucas; "Maybe we should take a break."

"No need." Royal said as he closed the folder. "I've made up my mind about this place. It is a financial burden on the foundation. You think experimental means miraculous but that is not the case. We need to be doing ordinary surgeries for ordinary people." Lucas rolled his eyes. There was nothing ordinary about surgery. Not one single thing. The man was living in the dark ages and it was about time he recognised that. "The Foundation is pulling the funding on this place. Raleigh Med is done." He said as he stood up to leave, but Lucas quickly sprung up with him.

"If you take the money away from this place, it will shut down immediately." Lucas informed him. They couldn't survive without the foundation.

"Not my problem." He said as she straightened his suit jacket.

"We have to spend money in order to make more! We are a highly specialised hospital with some of the best surgeons in the country. You are taking away the opportunity for people to live extraordinary lives that they wouldn't have otherwise had with the treatments we are able to provide. You really think people are going to stand by you doing that?" Lucas questioned.

For once in his life – Royal Scott had _nothing_ to say. He remained silent and Lucas looked at Karen completely confused. Had he really just stunned his grandfather into silence?

Suddenly, Royal became incredibly pale. He took one last look at Lucas, his eyes full of desperation before he collapsed onto the floor.

* * *

_"I killed him. I killed my grandfather."_ Lucas said in the on-call room as he pinched the bridge of his nose, his head lying in Brooke's lap while she comfortingly played with his hair. After he had collapsed, Lucas, Karen and Piper rushed to save him, but it was too late. He had a suspected heart attack and was dead before he'd even hit the floor. It was a total shock and Lucas felt unbelievably guilty. He felt like he'd pushed Royal too far.

"You didn't kill him Lucas, he was an old man, he clearly had a weak heart" Brooke said quietly, trying to think of something encouraging to say.

"Yeah, a weak heart in more ways than one…" Lucas grumbled. The man may have been dead, but Lucas didn't feel particularly sad about it. He was difficult and he was potential ruining countless lives. Maybe it was best that his time to go was now. "Mom wants me to go and make a speech to the hospital. Somehow, I've got to find something nice to say about a man I pretty much despised my whole life."

"You're pretty good with words, I'm sure you'll come up with something." Brooke encouraged. "Even if you don't mean it, it's just a formality."

Lucas sighed, "Why don't I feel worse about this? I mean – I don't feel great. But somehow… I feel relieved. I feel like a constant shadow has been lifted off me and I just – I feel free. Free from his constant scrutiny. I feel like I can finally be my own man. Maybe make an actually difference to what this foundation does."

Brooke smiled softly, "You are already your own man and the work that you've done for this hospital and the foundation is really wonderful. You should be proud of yourself Lucas for breaking free of all that man did to you and tried to force you to be. So go out there, say whatever your mom wants you to say and move on. You deserve to."

"What did I do to deserve you?" he asked quietly.

"Good question…" she teased before leaning down and kissing him. "Come on… let's go immortalise your grandfather." She said as he sat up and pulled her off the bed.

* * *

After strapping Sophie back into her chest carrier, this time facing outwards so she could see her dad and grandmother on the stairs, Brooke and Lucas made their way down to the lobby. Brooke stood just in front of Lucas, giving him a small nod of encouragement as he cleared his throat to say what he needed to say.

"Royal Scott was a very gifted surgeon…" Lucas began, wishing he could stop there. There wasn't much else he could think to say about him that was nice. "He was also my grandfather and I take great comfort knowing that he died…" he stopped briefly, again wishing he could stop there. "… doing what he loved." He finished, not being able to force himself to say anymore. He awkwardly cleared his throat before shoving his hands in his pockets and turning to Karen. "Mom?" he said quickly, as Brooke bit her lip, holding back her inappropriately timed laughter at Lucas'… _loving_ words about his grandfather. He stepped off the steps and stood beside Brooke, wrapped his arm around her waist.

"That was good" Brooke whispered with a nod. "Really from the heart" she teased.

Lucas nodded, "Yep…"

* * *

A few days later, Brooke was waiting for Lucas and Karen to arrive back to the hospital from Royal's funeral in Boston. Brooke decided to stay behind with Sophie, figuring that the trip would be difficult enough without having to deal with a newborn. For the past few days she had been observing the new neurosurgeon Piper had employed in the hopes of getting in his food books and securing that fellowship for next year.

"Hey" she greeted when she saw them get off the elevator. "How was the service?" she asked. She'd already spoken to Lucas about it when they spoke last night, but there was no harm asking again.

"Tasteful" Karen replied as Lucas wrapped his arm around Brooke's waist and kissed her temple, incredibly happy to be back beside her again. There was something about just standing near her that lifted Lucas' mood almost in an instant.

"It was a bunch of people kissing our asses looking for money." Lucas grumbled.

Karen gave him a disapproving look, despite knowing he wasn't wrong. It was time they put the past in the past and be done with it.

"We'll have a family supper tonight and do our own thing and talk about the real Royal Scott. Keith and Lily are on their way up from Boston to join us too… Right now, I need to change…" she said, wanting to out of her plane clothes since they'd come here straight from the airport.

"Karen Roe?" they heard a voice say as they turned around to see the new neurosurgeon walk in their direction.

"Andy Hargrove?" she said with a laugh as he kissed her cheek.

"How is it I'm aging, and you aren't?" he said as Karen laughed further.

"Oh stop it…" Karen scolded as Brooke and Lucas looked at each other, a little confused by this interaction. It appeared Karen and the new neuro guy had some sort of past. "This is my son Lucas and his fiancée Brooke Davis." Karen introduced as Brooke gave him a tight-lipped smile.

"Yes, Brooke and I go way back to her judging my song choice in surgery." Andy said as he raised his eyebrows.

"As much as a love the Beach Boys, it was just a tad on the inappropriate side…" Brooke said with a snarky grimace. Andy was clearly an excellent – yet extremely arrogant – surgeon, but Brooke wasn't sure how productive it was to be blasting pop music over someone's open brain.

Andy playfully narrowed his eyes before Lucas removed his hand from Brooke's waist and shook Andy's hand.

"How old is he?" Andy asked Karen who frowned.

"Why?"

"Just want to make sure he's not mine" he teased.

"Oh _God."_ Lucas said as Brooke held back a laugh and followed Lucas as he walked away, not wanting to hear anymore about the sordid past his mother had with this guy.

"You are _awful_…" Karen teased as she and Andy also walked away to catch up a little more. He was obviously joking, but he still make Lucas squirm a little.

As Lucas rounded the corner, Brooke soon caught up with him and wrapped her arms around one of his, resting her cheek against it.

"I missed you" she said quietly.

"I missed you too" he said as he kissed her head.

"Are you sure you're ok?" she asked as they stopped at a nurse's station and she looked up at him.

"I am very ok now that I'm here with you." He said as he gave her a quick kiss as Nathan walked over.

"How much money did he give you?" he asked immediately.

_"Nathan."_ Brooke scolded. "That's not an appropriate question."

"I'm just wondering if we should look out for a truck arriving with gold bars in the back." Nathan said with a shrug.

Lucas smirked; "It's a fleet of limos, not a truck."

Brooke looked at Lucas as he and Nathan continued to joke about money. It had never even crossed her mind that Lucas would be gaining a lot of money from this. She wondered what he might do with it. It wasn't like he was strapped for cash as a high flying plastic surgeon and Brooke was going pretty well for herself too. She shook her head, realising that she'd cross those thoughts if an heritance ever even came.

* * *

That evening, Lucas, Brooke and Sophie made their way round to Keith and Karen's house for the family meal Karen insisted on having. As they walked into their luxurious house, Lucas called out for his mother and Karen came rushing to the door.

"Where's my baby?" Karen cooed.

"Right here ma" Lucas replied.

Karen scolded him; "My _other_ baby, come to grandma…" she insisted as she took Sophie from Lucas's arms.

Lucas nodded solemnly; "I guess I've been replaced then…"

"Well she is _far_ cuter than you." Brooke teased as they walked into the living room. "This looks incredible." Brooke commented at the cheese board that Karen had set out.

"Thank you, sweetie. Dinner's almost ready, Lily is out with a friend right now, I couldn't persuade her to stay…" Karen said with an eyeroll. "But she'll be joining us later for sure. Sophie can come help me and grandpa Keith in the kitchen" Karen happily said as she took Sophie into the kitchen, leaving Brooke and Lucas on their own.

"No matter how many times I am in this house, I can't get over how _insane_ it is." Brooke said as she looked around at the beautiful stonework. For not even living in Raleigh for most of the year, Keith and Karen really did splash out on their house here.

"Yeah, it's something else. A little much if you ask me." Lucas said as he poured her a glass of wine.

"I grew up in the most beautiful brownstone in New York, so _boy_ do I appreciate a nice house." She replied. She loved that house. It was her childhood home and held so many wonderful memories… and some pretty terrible ones too, particularly around her later teenage years.

"You don't think our house is nice?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You know I love our house... it has a lot of history. From my grandmother to my roommates to my family. It's the best house I could have asked for." She said with assuredly. Lucas knew full well she wasn't their house's biggest fan. "Hey, did you know that I can speak French?" she asked randomly.

"No, I did not…" he said, wondering where this was going.

"Yeah… do you speak any languages?" she asked.

Lucas chuckled; "What's with the first date type question?"

"I don't know, my patient started speaking French today after her surgery. She couldn't speak a word of English, and her family didn't even know she could speak French. It reminded me that all the Davis kids since my great-grandfather have gone to French pre-school and then it hit me—we never _really _had a first date. We had random make out sessions in the on-call room that turned into random sex sessions in the on-call room. That's not a first date. We never got to ask these stupid questions. I don't know if you can speak another language." Brooke complained. She wasn't sure she would count the wedding they attended as a date considering they were all called into the hospital to work. Things just took off from there and now they were here – with a baby and hopelessly in love. In a weird way, how they got there felt like a bit of a mystery.

Lucas sighed; "I feel like these questions require more wine…"

"More like a gallon of it…" she said as she took a sip from her glass. As much as she wanted to know all these little things about Lucas, it would feel like getting to know someone new all over again—and she didn't know if she was prepared for that.

"And no, I don't speak another language" he said, answering her original question. He'd done a little bit of Spanish in high school, but he certainly couldn't speak it properly.

"_It's complicated, I need to talk to Lucas about his inheritance—" _They heard Karen shout at Keith from the kitchen.

Brooke grimaced; "Damn… this is going to be a night of revelations."

They tried their best not to listen in as Karen and Keith continued to fight, but this house was very echoey.

"I'm gonna… yeah." Lucas said as he stood up and walked towards the kitchen.

"_How complicated is it_?" Keith asked.

"_A quarter of a billion dollars, that's how complicated!" _Karen shouted.

Lucas stopped dead in his tracks and Brooke choked on her wine. Had they heard that right? A quarter of a billion dollars?

Karen came out carrying Sophie as Keith trudged along behind. She put Sophie in her high chair and strapped her in before turning to a stunned Lucas and Brooke.

"So, who's hungry?" she asked.

* * *

"Everything tastes wonderful." Keith said as they ate their dinner in a now rather uncomfortable silence. They'd been sitting there for 15 minutes now and nobody was saying anything. Nobody knew what to say. Lucas and Brooke were shocked, Keith was mad that Karen was bringing up money at the dinner table and Karen didn't even know where to _start_.

"_So_ wonderful." Brooke added, trying to make the atmosphere a little less tense before Lucas lost it. She could tell he was a little worked up about being given that amount of money. He didn't need it, it seemed ridiculous.

Lucas set his cutlery down; "Why can't that money go to the foundation? I don't need it, I don't want it."

"He left plenty of money for the foundation, that was his gift to you. Lily got a lot of money too to put away, he wanted to provide for his grandchildren." Karen told him.

"That's not a gift mom, that's an _economy!"_ Lucas exclaimed. It was so much money, far too much money. "I don't want it, nor do I need it." Lucas made clear again. What the hell was he supposed to do with that amount of money?

"What about Sophie's future?" Karen questioned as Brooke jumped in at this point.

"Sophie is fine money wise, Lucas and I both have pretty hefty trust funds, not to mention the money my dad left me and we're making plenty of money in our own right—" Brooke said for Lucas before he got even madder.

"You think having a lot money is _tough?_ Try _not_ having it sometime." Karen challenged as the whole table fell silent again.

Classic Brooke then came into play—she really didn't do well with awkward silences.

"Maybe you could just buy an island… or two and make them _fight _each other." Brooke joked as Lucas stifled a laugh and Karen glared straight at her, causing her to quieten down. "I'll just—yeah. Is there more wine?" she said as the reached for the bottle.

They soon heard the front door open and Lily came bouncing into the room, "Hey guys!" she said happily as she sat down at the table and started digging in to the food around her. He wasn't until she had filled her plate that she looked up and realised she'd missed something big. "Oh damn… what I miss?"

"You're not taking that money Lily." Lucas said.

Lily frowned, "What money?"

_"Lucas."_ Karen scolded. She clearly hadn't told Lily about the money that she would also be receiving.

"This family needs to sort out its priorities. We don't need it mom. Do something worthwhile with it." Lucas insisted before he stood from the table and walked away to take a breather from the tension.

"… I love a family dinner." Lily said before quickly eating to avoid Karen's glare.

* * *

"Lucas is rich." Brooke announced as she sat beside Rachel at the nurse's station while she worked on the computer the following morning.

"I know..." Rachel simply replied as if it was entirely honest.

"No like he's _insanely_ rich, too _much_ money rich now that he's got this inheritance. It's giving me a headache." Brooke whined as she slumped in her chair.

Rachel rolled her eyes; "Oh shut up, you're a trust fund kid, this shouldn't be giving you a headache. What's Lucas going to do with this inheritance?" Rachel asked as she finally looked away from the computer and at Brooke.

Brooke shrugged; "He doesn't want it. Karen thinks he should set it aside for Sophie, but I think between us, she's not going to need that money."

"Maybe he could invest it in something. Something medical. Something revolutionary." Rachel suggested.

"Maybe…"

* * *

That afternoon, Lucas walked past one of the side rooms and saw Brooke studying some scans, he leaned on the doorway and watched her for a moment before speaking, causing her to jump slightly.

"Basketball." He said as Brooke raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"I played basketball in high school and college. Point guard." He told her.

Brooke smirked; "Fitting."

"Why?" he asked as he walked into the room and leaned on the desk opposite her.

"I was a cheerleader in high school" she said with a laugh. "It wasn't the most common thing in New York, but I loved it."

Lucas crossed his arms; "You never really talk about New York." It hadn't really crossed his mind until Brooke brought up the first date questions business. He felt like he knew a lot about her, but one thing that he wasn't clear on was her life before Raleigh.

Brooke shrugged; "It feels like another life."

"24 years of your life." He reminded her. Half of her life had been kept in the dark. "What was it like?" he asked.

"Well what do you want to know about it?" she asked as she sat beside him on the desk.

Lucas smiled; "Everything."

"Everything?" Brooke said with a chuckle before thinking about it; "Well… I was born in Mount Sinai, I lived in the most beautiful Brownstone in Manhattan until I was 18 and then I went to med school and lived in various apartments with my friends. My room was mint green and when I was 10, I begged my parents to let me get a double bed that hung from the roof and eventually they gave in and I adored it." She told him as he smiled at her, loving the joy that spread across her face when she spoke of her childhood. It was clearly a very happy one. "I went to a private school from kindergarten straight through to 12th grade, though I skipped third grade. The uniform was light blue and navy, so these scrubs are something I am very accustomed to." She joked. "I maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout high school. I was a cheerleader as you know, I had a high kick like nothing in this world, and don't ask me to do it now because I will tear a muscle... My best friend was called Susie, we still talk and whenever I'm in New York we hang out. She's also a doctor, she's a surgical resident at Johns Hopkins. I never had a boyfriend. There were boys, but nothing ever came of my great 6th grade crushes. Every day after school Harry and I went down to spend some time with my parents at the hospital whenever they had a free minute and then we went home together. That kind of stopped when I hit 8th grade. Mom and dad were barely speaking to each other and… you know what happens next." She said, as she looked down at her feet, not liking how the story ended.

"Sounds like quite the life." Lucas said quietly.

Brooke nodded; "It certainly was."

"Do you ever miss it?"

"Sometimes. But I think I've got a pretty good thing going here." She said as they smiled softly at each other.

"… you still got that cheerleading outfit?" he asked as Brooke laughed.

"That I wore when I was _16_?"

Lucas smirked; "I'm sure it still fits like a glove."

Brooke continued to laugh; "I wouldn't be so sure."

"That's the thing about relationships. You find out little things as you go along. It doesn't all come at once. Keeps the mystery alive." Lucas told her, letting her know that it was ok they didn't know all the typical first date questions, but he knew one day they would.

"I guess so… and there's a mystery very much still alive over your inheritance." She reminded him. "There's only so many jokes I can make about buying ridiculous things without Karen looking like she wants to sucker punch me."

Lucas laughed; "I appreciate your ridiculous suggestions." He said as he rested his hand on the crook between her neck and shoulder. "Do you think I'm right not to want it?" he asked, valuing her opinion more than anything.

"Yeah. I do. We have enough money to last us a lifetime. What are you going to do with a quarter of a billion dollars? Create your own award?" she joked with a scoff as Lucas's eyes lit up.

Before he could say anything else, Karen walked into the room.

"Hi" she greeted as Lucas and Brooke stood down from the table.

"Hi Karen, thank you so much for dinner last night, it was lovely." Brooke complimented.

"Oh it was my pleasure Brooke. I'm glad you were there, I knew I'd need someone to talk sense into this one." Karen said as she squeezed Lucas's cheek.

"Oh, I think he's pretty sensible." Brooke said as she squeezed his waist in support.

"Hm… I'm not so sure about that. I could talk to Lucas till he was blue in the face, and somehow, you are the only one who has ever been able to talk sense to him." Karen observed. "I'll see you two later." She said before walking away.

Brooke moved to stand in front of him; "Yeah cause buying an island is super sensible. Wait. You could buy a boat."

Lucas raised his eyebrows; "A _boat?"_

"Yeah! Remember when you freaked out when I was pregnant with Sophie and thought about buying a boat? Now's your chance! Live a little."

"You really want me to buy a boat?" he asked again, making sure she wasn't joking.

Brooke smirked; "I think boat sex would be a lot more comfortable than car sex personally..." she teased. Sometimes 10 minutes in the car was all the alone time they got these days, so why not move it to another mode of transportation?

Lucas gulped; "… guess I'm buying a boat."

* * *

**Figured we deserved some cuteness at the end!****Just to note - Andy is just going to be a recurring presence with little significance. I'm just enjoying intertwining these worlds and bringing familiar faces in! The part about him being Lucas' dad was a joke lol**

**Next chapter - Brooke takes on Lindsey after she makes some snap judgements. It's one of my favourite moments of the story. **


	28. I'm Yours, You're Mine

**Brooke takes on Lindsey after she makes some snap judgements and Lucas gets a little jealous and needy over Brooke... enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Eight – I'm Yours, You're Mine**

Brooke sat beside Lucas in the plastics lab, looking over his shoulder as he worked on his latest project. Someone had anonymously donated a hefty sum of cash to the hospital to fund a research competition. In a few short weeks, they would have to present their work to the hospital board who would determine where the money was allotted in order to develop projects further.

While the donation had been anonymous, Brooke had her suspicions that the money was coming from a certain Scott who'd received a hefty inheritance that he didn't want... Despite this, she decided to not say anything. She knew Lucas was desperate to build something without the Scott name haunting him and wanted to be able to enter a competition for once. Most previous competition and award schemes had been run by the Scott Foundation so he couldn't enter, but this time he was in and he was determined to win.

"This is so cool Lucas" Brooke complimented as she examined his work.

"Yeah…" Lucas grumbled as he looked into his microscope.

Brooke scoffed, "Don't try and sound too enthusiastic about it…"

"I have two ideas and I don't know which one to develop"

"Hm. Poor Lucas. He has _two_ ideas and he can't decide which one to submit…" she said sarcastically as Lucas rolled his eyes and smirked. "At least you _have_ two great ideas, I am completely out of the game." Brooke said as she fiddled with the instruments around her.

"How so?" Lucas asked as he leaned back in his chair.

"Ever since I had Sophie I feel like I'm being pushed out by the attendings. For some reason, being a mother doesn't appear to be something good surgeons do." Brooke said quietly. "Hargrove has basically been ghosting me from neuro for entirely unknown reasons and Rachel has latched onto Kate's side—I have _no one_." She had been feeling a little useless around her recently and she didn't know what to do with herself.

"You're at the top of your residency class Brooke, everybody wants you. You can write whatever fellowship ticket you want." Lucas reminded her. She really was the best of the best she was being way too hard on herself.

"I'm not so sure about that right now."

"We could form our dynamic plastic's duo again?" he suggested with a smirk, knowing exactly how she felt about being Lucas' right hand man in the hospital.

"… _no_." Brooke said firmly as Lucas chuckled.

The door to the lab opened and Lindsey appeared, not looking overly impressed.

"Davis? ER, now." She demanded before leaving.

"Wow,_ grouchy_…" Brooke said before jumping off her stool. "I will see you later broody." She said as she gave him a lingering kiss.

"Go get yourself back in the game baby, you got this" he encouraged, with a light slap on her butt in a joking manner causing her to squeal lightly and giggle as she walked away.

"Thank you handsome"

* * *

While Brooke was in the ER, she came across a little boy named Oscar was experiencing some severe pains in his chest, accompanied by difficulty breathing. After some test and scans, they were able to determine that Oscar had a large tumour on his throat that was spreading downwards towards his lungs and therefore restricting his ability to breathe. After explaining this to his parents, and the fact that he would need surgery immediately, Brooke received a surprising response that immediately turned her day from bad to worse.

"When can we take him home?" his father, Winston had asked quickly.

"Well that depends on how quickly he recovers after surgery. Most patients can be released within—" Brooke began to explain but Winston held his hand up and cut her off.

"No, Oscar won't have the surgery. Or anything else, we don't believe in medical intervention." He said as Brooke's face fell. Why the hell did they bring him here then? Why come here to find out what's wrong if you're going to do nothing about it?

"If you take Oscar home without this surgery, it is very likely he will die. He is in pain, he can't breathe properly." Brooke reminded them in complete disbelief at their ignorance to Oscar's discomfort.

"If it's his destiny to live then he'll live." His mother, Lola, insisted. "How soon can we discharge him?"

Brooke clenched her jaw, realising that there was nothing she could do about this situation. "I'll get the paperwork for you." She said, turning away from them. She took one last look at Oscar and saw the desperation and fear in his eyes. She couldn't believe this was happening to this little boy.

* * *

A short while later, Brooke reluctantly stood with Lola while she signed the discharge papers. She couldn't believe that they would just let their little boy leave here without any help, help that they could expertly and accurately provide.

"And this states that you are aware you're taking Oscar home against medical advice." Brooke said glumly.

"I know this probably seems strange to you Dr. Davis, I appreciate your co-operation with everything." Lola said awkwardly as Lindsey approached the pair having heard about the situation.

"Do you understand that against medical advice in this case means that if you take Oscar now, there's a very real chance Oscar will die?" Brooke asked again, taking one more chance to try and convince her.

Before Lola could respond or Brooke could say anything else, Lindsey walked over, having heard about the situation and decided to speak up. "Thank you, Dr. Davis." She said firmly, indicating that this conversation was over.

Lola walked away, and Brooke gathered the papers into a neat pile and handed them to the nurse behind the desk.

"Who taught you to speak to patients that way?" Lindsey demanded to know.

Brooke looked her dead in the eye before saying; "She's not my patient." She simply said. She didn't owe Lindsey any kind of explanation for her conduct.

Brooke sent her one last glare before quickly storming away, not in the mood to deal with Lindsey today. On the whole, the two of them had gotten a long, but today seemed like a day that that just wasn't going to happen.

* * *

That evening, a large cohort of attendings and residents made their way round to Tric for a much-needed drink to celebrate the handing in of their project proposals. While Lucas waited at the bar for Brooke while she put Sophie to bed and waited for the babysitter, Lindsey came over and stood beside him.

"We need to talk about Brooke" she said.

Lucas sighed, "Hello to you too, Lindsey…" he grumbled. She could be unnecessarily court when she wanted to be.

"I read her file and I noticed that when her father died, she went back to work almost immediately."

Lucas shook his head, "No, she took a few weeks off and then she went to Boston for three months—"

"With no counselling, nothing."

"She's fine, she's focused, the people she needs are here in this hospital—" Lucas reasoned. He was right. This was her safe place and it was often the only thing that kept her afloat. Almost everyone she loved most in the world were here. She was exactly where she needed to be – why was Lindsey questioning that?

"She's had a lot of trauma in her life." Lindsey added. Lucas was still confused, but was beginning to clock on that for some reason, she was concerned about Brooke's state of mind.

"If anything, that makes her a better doctor. She has a real drive and passion to make a difference in people's lives so she can save people the heartbreak of what she's been through. Why are you so interested in this?" Lucas asked, the frustration evident in his voice.

"I noticed some red flags. She was inappropriate with a patient's family member—"

"We all get arrogant and snarky with family. They often like to think that they know best and I would be concerned if a surgeon wasn't a little high strung about that." Lucas asked.

"Open your eyes Lucas. She's not fit enough to be here." Lindsey boldly stated.

"Why are you coming to me with this?"

"You own the hospital, you have majority shares on the board, you need to know about your surgeons." Lindsey reasoned.

"You haven't come to me about any other surgeon before but you think you can come here and tear my fiancée apart and expect me to just throw her under the bus too?" he questioned in disbelief. What did she hope to achieve from this?

"You need to be put your personal feelings aside."

"Even if I didn't have personal feelings in this issue, I would say the exact same thing that I'm saying now. Brooke is the best and the brightest resident we've got. This hospital needs her." Lucas said as he lifted his drink and left the bar, just as Brooke walked through the door.

"Hey—wow" he greeted as Brooke took his drink and downed it. "Rough day?"

"You could say that. I had a little boy today with a tumour in his throat and he could barely breathe… but his parents wouldn't let him have any kind of medical intervention." Brooke said as she looked to her feet, trying to control her emotions. "I just – I can't imagine ever putting Sophie in a position like that, you know? And I am trying so hard to respect their life choices but – it's not a choice for that little boy. He just wants to live."

Lucas didn't know what to say, instead, he just pulled her into his chest to comfort her as best he could.

"You see the best in people Brooke, even when you find it hard not too. Don't let that go. Don't let one person make you lose faith in humanity. We have to believe that that little boy will be ok. That's all we can do" he told her quietly as Brooke let one stray tear escape from her eye.

"I love you" she whispered against his chest.

Lucas smiled against her head, "I love you too"

* * *

The following morning, Brooke was working in the ER when to her surprise, Oscar came stumbling into the hospital. He was alone and was clearly desperate for help. He begged Brooke to help him. He felt like it wasn't his 'destiny' to die and he knew that this surgery was what he needed. She got him in to a private room and paged Lucas to come down immediately. As an ENT specialist along with plastics, he was the best person to help remove Oscar's tumour from his throat.

"Hey" Lucas greeted when he found Brooke pacing outside of Oscar's room. "What's going on?"

"The little boy came back, he's here." Brooke said as Lucas looked in the window of the room and saw Oscar sitting lying in the bed with an oxygen mask around his face.

"His parents gave consent?"

Brooke took in a breath and shook her head, "He came here, by himself. He begged me to help him, Lucas we _have_ to help him."

"Brooke—"

"You know this isn't right. You know we have the power to save his life and I can't on good conscience let him walk away from this hospital knowing that I did nothing to help him. That's not why we became doctors, we don't get to pick and choose." She said, firmly making her case.

"How do you suppose we go about just wheeling him into surgery? Piper and Lindsey would be on us like hawks." Lucas said quietly as he pulled Brooke over to the side so no one else could hear their conversation.

"We fudge his records. We say that his airway completely closed over, it was an emergency procedure. We'll do it by Lindsey's methods, I'll run point, it was my decision, you just need to enter it into the charts as the attending." Brooke made clear. She needed his help, but she also wasn't about to put him in a dangerous position when it was her idea.

"… ok" Lucas said with a nod. If this was Sophie, he would hope someone would do the same thing for her. "Let's do it."

* * *

A few hours later, Oscar was out of surgery and doing really well. Lucas managed to remove all of the tumour and while he couldn't talk right now, his breathing was much improved. Brooke was sitting in his room with him to keep him company before his parents got here and no doubt all hell broke loose. As she was laughing about something with him, she looked up and saw Lindsey standing at the window, nodding her head for Brooke to come out of the room.

_Oh boy_.

"I will be right back" she said to Oscar before disappearing. She followed Lindsey around the corner to a silent part of the hallway for what Brooke didn't doubt would be a big confrontation.

"It's time to start talking." Lindsey demanded as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'm sorry?"

"Why did Lucas enter those orders?" she asked. As soon as she saw Lucas' name on the board beside Oscars she knew Brooke would have dragged him into this. She just needed to hear it from her mouth.

"I was running point – like you insist all the residents do – and I made the call." Lindsey's method of putting the resident's in the driving seat appeared to be back firing on her.

"You operated on a little boy without his parent's consent! Do you have any idea how much money you could cost this hospital because of your recklessness?" Lindsey asked, fully expecting a law suit to come out of this.

"Recklessness? Last time I checked, saving lives isn't reckless it's our job!" Brooke snapped back. "Oscar came to us looking for help, so I helped him, that is the job."

"No, that is _not_ your job, that is his _parents_' job—"

"Then where the hell where they?!" Brooke exclaimed. "_We_ did their job._ We_ protected their child when they couldn't keep him safe and healthy and be there to tell him everything will be alright. They couldn't do their _one_ job!"

"You're out of line Davis." Lindsey said through her teeth.

"Are you kidding me? What sort of doctor are you? You're so concerned with protocols and being perfect little Lindsey Strauss that you can't even do the job that you're trained to do which is save people's lives. I don't need you coming here and telling me that I'm out of line. I don't need you going to Lucas and telling him you think I'm _damaged_. To hell I am damaged!" Brooke shouted as some of the staff had turned the corner to hear all the commotion, including Lucas, Rachel and Nathan. "You seem to think that because my life is full of tragedy and trauma that I'm not fit to be a surgeon. How _dare_ you turn my life into some sort of unfixable tragedy. How dare you try to take the _one_ thing away from me that gives me the greatest purpose." Brooke exclaimed. Being a surgeon was everything to her. It saved her, it made her a better person. "You can look at a file and make all the conclusions you want… but you don't know a damn thing about me or my life. You don't know how I dealt with my pain and my sadness. You don't know how strong I am and how capable I am."

Lindsey remained in a stunned silence as Brooke turned to look at three of the most important people in her life.

"Only the people who truly know me and love me understand that." Brooke said with a gulp.

Lucas gave her a reassuring smile before stepping forward. Since Lindsey had arrived here, he'd been biting his tongue and letting her do whatever she wanted, but enough was enough. She wasn't a team player. She didn't understand the doctors in this hospital, she couldn't see the talent and dedication and passion in each of them. It had been a noble attempt by Karen, but there was no place for her, and Lucas was going to make that clear.

"Dr. Strauss, I don't believe that there is a place for you in my hospital anymore." Lucas said Bluntly as Lindsey clenched her jaw and glared. She spun on her heel and left the hallway, never to grace Raleigh Med's halls again.

* * *

A week or so later, Lucas walked into the hospital one Thursday morning as he carried Sophie down to day care. Brooke had been staying late a few nights this week, trying to work out how she could up her game around here or at least find a speciality. Since the big blow-up with Lindsey, Brooke was even more determined to make the attendings notice her again – especially Andy. Neuro was her passion and she wasn't prepared to let it slip past her. Lucas had really missed seeing her. Despite working together and living together, they barely had time for one another and he knew Sophie was missing her too. Therefore, he was glad when he saw Brooke waiting for them outside of the day care.

"Hi monkey!" Brooke said as she held out her arms for her daughter who smiled widely when she saw her momma. She took her and hugged her tightly; "Oh I missed you last night, yes I did." She cooed at her as she made funny faces and Sophie laughed.

"I didn't realise you were planning on staying here last night… _again_." Lucas said to her, clearly annoyed about it.

"I know, I haven't been home much at night, but I've just really been getting my head down and—"

"For what? You're already ahead of your game." Lucas reminded her. She was the best resident they had, she could afford to not be in on every surgery.

Brooke sighed; "I don't have a specialty Lucas. So, I can either beg Hargrove to let me back in on neuro, I can prove to him that I am worthy of being on neuro or I can find something else that I am passionate about—and I am _not_ a begger." She made clear.

"Ok, just—don't neglect Sophie in the middle of it all." He mumbled quietly.

"I'm not neglecting her Lucas, I've spent every lunch time with her—" she said defensively.

"Or me." He added as Brooke raised an eyebrow.

"Are you feeling lonely? Cute…" she said with a grin.

Lucas shoved his hands in his pockets; "How is that cute?"

"Because you miss me. I'm _missable_." She said proudly.

"I—I'm fine, I see you every day anyway—" he reasoned, not wanting to give away just how much he _actually_ missed her.

"Oh I get it. You miss the sex." Brooke said with a smirk as Lucas remained quiet. "See, you can't even deny it! It's only been a week, surely you can last a little longer—" she teased as she took a step towards him as she saw him shift awkwardly. Sure, he missed the sex, but he missed _all_ of her. He missed hearing her laugh in his ear about something ridiculously stupid. He missed hearing her terrible singing as she rocked Sophie to sleep. He really, truly missed her.

"You mean you're still planning on staying here?" he asked quietly.

"Well… I'm considering it now just to tease you." She said, as she stood just a breath away from him.

"You are _so_ mean…" he groaned.

"_I know."_

"That's it, we're having a date night tonight. No excuses." He said firmly.

Brooke took a step back and he immediately missed the warmth of her body so close to his; "I don't know, I—"

"No. Excuses." He said firmly as Brooke raised an eyebrow at his assertiveness. He must have _really _missed her this week.

"Alright then." She said. "Say bye to daddy Sophie…" Brooke said as she took Sophie into the day care. Brooke looked down at her hand and her eyes widened when she realised why her hand felt bare—her engagement ring wasn't there. _She'd lost her engagement ring_. Holy _crap_. What was she going to do?!

Lucas watched Brooke as she deliberately swayed her hips to frustrate him further. He clenched his jaw tightly. Tonight could not come soon enough.

* * *

After leaving Sophie off, Brooke rushed upstairs in search of Rachel. She really needed her help, though she had a sneaking suspicion that all her friend would do was laugh at her.

"I lost my engagement ring." Brooke said quietly as she found Rachel by the nurse's station.

Rachel raised an eyebrow; "What?"

"Yeah, and it could not come on a _worse possible day_. I haven't been home in a week, Lucas is planning an emergency date night and he's going to realise that I am an even worse fiancée than he originally thought—" Brooke said as she ran a hand through her hair, but Rachel cut her off.

"Have you met the new attending?" she asked as Brooke frowned at her, not grasping why she thought that was important information right now. "He's on cardio, I hear he's hot and we both know what you're like with attendings, particularly new ones—" Rachel said with a little laugh thinking about Julian.

Brooke looked at her with disbelief; "Are you kidding me right now? First off, _one_ new one, second off, did you not listen to anything I just said? I _lost_ my _engagement ring_! My _very _expensive diamond ring that Lucas will notice is gone!" she said frantically.

"Relax, it's kind of hard to miss, we'll find it. Just retrace your steps… via cardio."

_"Rachel!"_

"Oh come on, you love a good meet cute…" Rachel said as she wiggled her eyebrows. She really was just teasing, she loved Brooke and Lucas together.

Brooke pouted and crossed her arms; "You are a terrible best friend."

"The worst, I know." Rachel said as she linked arms with Brooke; "I'll make sure everyone but Lucas is on the lookout for your ring. He never has to find out."

Brooke threw her hands up in the air. At last she was acknowledging her problem; "Thank you!"

* * *

Lucas made his way round to the canteen and spotted Nathan in line for some food.

"Hey man" he greeted with a smile.

"Hey… why are you in such a good mood?" Nathan asked with a smirk, noticing that Lucas looked a little perkier than usual.

"I've got a date tonight, with my fiancée. My very beautiful, brainy fiancée who has been blowing me off for the past week to stay over at the hospital because she wants to get back in a game she doesn't realise she's not actually out of. So, to say I'm sexually frustrated would be an understatement. Date night is going to be off the _charts_—"

"Too much info man…" Nathan said as he shoved Lucas lightly.

_"I can't believe how hot Brooke Davis is"_

Lucas ears perked as he looked down the line and saw two of the interns talking about Brooke.

"You'd think we'd be used to it by now but no. She's like a Greek _goddess_." One of them said in wonder and awe.

Nathan watched as Lucas's eyes narrowed at the intern's fawning over his fiancée. Any other day, he'd probably let it slide. I mean, she was incredibly beautiful. However, he was incredibly frustrated today, and this was_ not _helping.

"I never thought I would be into moms, but there's just something about her bossiness and patronising tone that turns me on—"

"Oh god…" Nathan mumbled under her breath as Lucas snapped.

"Yeah, nope. Harvey!" he said as he walked down the line and Harvey's face fell, and the other intern simply bolted.

"Hey buddy, I got a patient in 1413 with a large, _super infected abscess_ in his groin that you're going to drain for me. _Now_." He ordered as Harvey sulked away. He was the sort of boy who was used to getting what he wanted, and it was talking him a while to adjust to the fact that he was a small fish in a very big pond and Lucas Scott was the _king_ of the fishes.

Lucas turned back to Nathan with a clenched jaw and fists; "… I need to find Brooke."

"Yeah…"

* * *

Lucas quickly manoeuvred through the hallways, frustrated that he couldn't find Brooke anywhere. He looked in every room, through every window but nothing. He soon encountered Rachel and Haley on his search.

"Hey, have you seen Brooke anywhere?" he asked frantically.

"No, why?" Haley asked him, seeing how distressed he looked.

"I just need her for… something…" he said awkwardly.

"Anything we can help you with?" Rachel offered, knowing_ exactly_ why Lucas was looking for Brooke, but wanting to taunt him a little.

_"NO_! No, no, this—this definitely requires _Brooke_." He said quickly, before quickly walking away.

Haley and Rachel looked at each other; "someone's looking to get some." Haley said as they both started to laugh.

* * *

Meanwhile, Brooke had just finished attending to some patients in the ER and was filling in some charts at the front desk when a unfamiliar face in navy blue scrubs walked towards her.

"I believe you are looking for this?" He said as he held up her engagement ring.

Brooke's face lit up; "Oh my god, you found it! Where did you find it?!" she asked as she took it from him and hugged it gratefully to her chest.

"Scrub room. You left it on the shelf." He replied.

"Of course I did, the most obvious place is the one place I didn't look. Thank you so much—" she said as she waited for him to fill in his name.

"Owen. Owen Morello. I'm the new cardio attending." He explained as Brooke shook his hand.

"It's very nice to meet you, Brooke Davis." She said with a smile.

"It's nice to meet you, I've heard a lot about you." He said. No one ever came to Raleigh Med without a low down on Brooke Davis. She was the crown jewel of this place.

Brooke laughed; "All good things I hope."

"Of course. I hear you're the person you want to be friends with in this place."

"If you're lucky enough…" she teased as he smirked; "I'm kidding, I will happily be the friend of anyone who needs one. I gotta run, but again, it was nice to meet you and we'll hang out some time soon. I'll introduce you to some people, you'll become part of the family soon enough. See you." She said sincerely before walking away.

Owen watched her as she left the ER with a smile on his face—just as Harvey was watching him. If he'd learnt anything today from his lunch break, it was that Brooke Davis was a no-go area.

"This is going to get messy…" Harvey mumbled as Owen turned around.

"Sorry?" Owen asked.

Harvey froze, not meaning for him to hear that; "Nothing, nothing…" he said quickly. "Considering the way you were looking at Brooke Davis, the very much engaged crown jewel of the hospital—it's going to get _messy_." Owen confessed, before quickly darting away.

* * *

Brooke happily walked through the hospital hallways on her way to the resident's lounge. She had a really good day in trauma again and felt like she was finally finding her feet—if only she knew why Andy was so averse to having her on neuro.

She eventually came across a frantic Lucas who looked incredibly relieved to see her; "Hey, I have been looking everywhere for you, date night needs to start now—" he said as he wrapped his arm around her waist and quickly pulled her down the hallway.

"Lucas, I had such a _rush_ today in trauma, I am finally feeling on form again. No more walking around with clip boards and patronising interns, I'm getting in that OR, _every damn day_ and I found my ring—"

Lucas frowned; "You lost your ring?"

"… but I found something other than neuro that I am passionate about!" she said as Lucas pulled her into the on call room and pushed her against the door, kissing her roughly. After a few moments of making out Lucas made his way down her neck.

"Damn, what has gotten into you…" she moaned as he continued to attack her neck.

"Interns running their mouths about you…" he mumbled against her skin.

Brooke's face fell; "Oh god. Do they hate me?"

Lucas looked up at her like she was crazy; "No, they think you're a goddess, they're obsessed with you"

"Oh._ Well_…" she said with a smirk.

"I mean rightly so... you're a goddess and I am so proud of you for getting your mojo back." he made clear as he kissed down her cheek. "but you're _my_ surgical goddess. No one else's."

Brooke looked him up and down; "Jealous Lucas is an incredibly _hot_ Lucas…"

_"You're mine."_ He said as he lifted her up, causing her to squeal, and carried her towards the bed.


	29. The Games You Play

**Rachel hosts a game night that results in some serious tension between Brooke and Lucas...**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Nine- The Games You Play**

One Friday morning, Rachel approached Brooke and Haley as they stood looking through some patient charts at the nurse's station. Ever since her breakup with Johnny 3 months ago, Rachel had been keen to get back in the dating game. While out a few weeks ago, she met a seemingly nice guy named James and things had been going well and she knew the next stage was introducing him to the most important people in her world.

"I think I like James" Rachel blurted out as Haley and Brooke looked at each other in a moment of confusion.

"We're… glad?" Haley questioned, not entirely sure where Rachel was going with this.

"I mean it's been over three weeks and you only _think_ you like him?" Brooke questioned.

"My mom was always the one to tell me whether a guy was a keeper or not and she didn't meet Johnny until we were well established as a couple and look how that turned out, and now I can't ask her cause she's in Costa Rica with my dad, so I may not find out if he's a keep or—"

"A serial killer?" Haley questioned with a grimace.

_"Haley!"_ Rachel scolded. "No, a keeper or just… not for me." She said with a groan as she slumped over the desk in a dramatic fashion.

"I'm just kidding, I'm sure he's not a serial killer, he's too nice" Haley tried to reassure.

"You know who says that? Neighbours of serial killers." Brooke joked as Haley held back her laugh. "Maybe we should meet him." Brooke suggested. "I think we've got pretty good judgement."

"You're on a sex high cause Lucas got jealous and now they can't keep their hands off each other, so the endorphins are running around her head like crazy, you'll think he's great no matter what" Haley teased.

"_Hey!"_ Brooke said with a little laugh. She and Lucas had been even more frisky than usual lately, but that was totally besides the point. "My judgement is perfectly intact thank you very much…"

"You know this isn't a bad idea…" Rachel decided. "Hell, I probably trust you more than my mother so why not? We can set up something casual like a games night at my place."

"And he'll never know that the real game is us judging him…" Brooke said with a devious smirk.

"Bring Lucas and Nathan too. I need a guy's perspective." Rachel added. "You know, I'm just going to invite everyone, more voices is better than none."

"Oh! Invite the new cardio attending." Brooke said. She'd been meaning to invite him out with them for a few weeks now, but it had never materialised. This seemed like the perfect opportunity.

"Morello?"

"Yeah, make him feel welcome."

Haley groaned; "You don't have a thing for the new attending, do you?"

Brooke gave her a disapproving look; "Are you kidding me?"

"I'm sorry but we both know you have a past with new attendings—"

"One new attending. _One_." She said firmly, before walking on. What was it with people thinking she was doomed to have relationships with any new and attractive attendings?

* * *

Later that afternoon, Peyton paged Lucas down to the ER to assess a teenage girl whose ear had been chopped off in a cooking incident involving her hysterical mother and a fear of bees…

"Ok, this should look like an easy fix" Lucas concluded as he bandaged up the wound again. "I'll get an OR booked and we'll have you fixed up in no time." He said with a little smile. He briefly looked up and saw Brooke working at the station.

"… are you two a thing?" the young girl asked as Lucas eyed her curiously.

"A thing?" he asked with a little laugh.

"Uh, yeah, just from that one glance alone I was getting some _major_ vibes." She said as she looked over at Brooke again. "Damn, she should be a _model_ not a surgeon… but it would be fitting if you two were a thing you're both _stupid_ hot."

Lucas chuckled, "She's my fiancée."

"Oh damn, fair play Dr. Scott. How'd you propose?" she asked. "I'm a sucker for a good love story."

"Uh… it's a long story, but I had planned to propose to her and then we got in this really stupid but monumental fight that stopped us properly speaking for about a week and then I realised that life was too short for that. We made up and I proposed while we were in bed…"

"Oh my god, you're going to make me cry! I like the soft and sweet ones, nothing to elaborate. It sounds perfect." She concluded. Lucas smiled and looked up just as Owen approached Brooke at the station.

"Who is that?"

"That's the new guy…"

"Dr. Davis" Owen greeted as Brooke looked up and smiled at him.

"Dr. Morello, how are you?" she asked as she set her tablet down.

"I'm good, you?" he asked as he rested his hand on the front desk.

"Yeah, I'm good too. By the way, we're having a games night tonight and I was wondering if you wanted to come, get to know a few people."

"Who's we?"

"My best friend Rachel is organising it so we can all go over and judge her new boyfriend. It's sort of become this thing that anyone's welcome to, so we figured it would be cool if you could come." Brooke encouraged. Rachel really was inviting everyone, even Peyton had scored an invite.

"Yeah, that sounds awesome." Owen said with a smile.

"Great, I'll send you the details later." She said as she turned and walked away.

Lucas watched from afar as Owen smirked at Brooke as she walked away. Lucas clenched his jaw and left the ER again. He felt a little uncomfortable by how Owen was looking at her and prayed he didn't try his luck – because it wouldn't end well.

"Oh… competition." His patient said as Lucas snapped out of it and looked back down at her. "I don't think he stands a chance. I saw the diamond on her finger, there is no way in _hell_ she would give that up."

* * *

That night, Brooke walked into Rachel's house with Lucas in tow as Rachel came to the door looking nervous.

"Hi!" she greeted, taking their coats from them.

"Hey, is he here?" Brooke asked as she tried to peak into the living room.

"Yeah, he's here." Rachel said as she took their coats and Brooke let out a little squeal, excited to meet the guy after all they had talked about him. She really hoped she didn't get those serial killer vibes that Haley was talking about…

"Sorry we're a little late, I wanted to get Sophie to sleep before we left, she's going through a bit of a phase, won't let anyone touch her except us." Brooke said with a little frown, feeling guilty for leaving her daughter.

"It's ok" Rachel quickly dismissed as James walked into the hallway.

"You must be some of the surgeon friends. Are any of your friends in finance? I'm trying to keep up here!" James joked as Rachel began to laugh in an over the top fashion, causing Brooke and Lucas to look at her funny. Rachel wasn't really a laugher. This was odd behaviour.

"This is James, he's being modest, he's done a lot of algorithm work with financial companies" Rachel told them proudly, pretending she actually knew what that meant.

"_Cool"_ Lucas said as he shook James's hand; "I'm Lucas"

"Brooke" Brooke introduced as she also shook his hand. The four of them stood in an awkward silence for a brief moment before the doorbell went again and Brooke dashed to open it, her keenness fading when she saw Owen and Peyton standing there.

Brooke bypassed Peyton and looked at Owen with a smile, "Owen! I'm so glad you made it."

Peyton looked between Brooke and Owen, "Oh, you two are a thing now?" she asked before laughing. "Well that's a _thrill._ Lucas, what did I tell you?" she said looking over at him. "Brooke would wimp out and move on eventually! I just never suspected the new attending… then again, Brooke _loves_ a new attending." she grumbled before stepping into the house.

Brooke turned to Rachel, "Why did we invite her again?"

Rachel grimaced and mouthed an apology as Brooke took a breath and turned back to Owen, "Hi"

"Uh… hi" Owen said awkwardly, not really sure how to follow Peyton's abrupt introduction.

"You must be Dr. Morello, I'm Lucas Scott. Brooke's fiancée." Lucas said as he used one hand to shake Owen's hand and the other to wrap tightly around Brooke's waist.

"Nice to meet you man." Owen said.

Peyton chose this moment to jump in again; "Lucas gets very territorial over Brooke even though he's not really that into her."

"Peyton!" Lucas scolded as Peyton smirked. Why did she bother coming here if she was just going to cause mayhem? As she walked past Lucas, he could smell the alcohol on her and soon realised that that was probably what was doing the talking.

"Too far?" she asked with a laugh, not really caring or not if it was.

"Can I get anyone a drink?" Rachel asked, desperately wanting to break up this awkward moment.

"Oh, no, I brought my own." Peyton said as she lifted out a bottle of vodka.

"This is going to be _fun_…" Brooke grumbled. She tried to walk away but Lucas's arm remained firmly in place. "Am I allowed to walk over there without you attached to me?" she questioned with a glare as Lucas released her and let her walk away.

* * *

_"Stonehenge!" _

_"Yes!"_ Brooke shouted as she walked back over to Lucas and gave him a high five. Games night was well and truly underway—and Brooke and Lucas were killing it at Pictionary. They really did make a great team.

"You got that from a rectangle?" Peyton asked as Brooke sat down beside Lucas.

"Yes, are you going to question the integrity of everyone here tonight or just my fiancée?" Lucas challenged.

Brooke sighed; "Why do you keep calling me your fiancée, I have a name." What was his deal tonight?

"Why are you mad at me?" Lucas asked as his head shot round to look at her.

"_You're_ the one who's had his jaw clenched all night." Brooke told him as she clenched _her_ jaw.

"Uh—Gatina you're up." Owen said as he awkwardly broke up their fight.

Before Rachel could start, there was a knock at the door. "That must be Kate." She said as she went to open the door, but was surprised to find a stranger on the other side.

"Hi. Can I help you?" Rachel asked politely.

"Yeah, is James here?" the woman asked as she stood with her arms folded.

"James? Yeah, yeah, I'm his girlfriend Rachel—or—I don't know, we haven't really put a label on it—" Rachel rambled.

"Yeah? Well we have, I'm Caroline, his _wife." _She announced as Rachel's face fell.

James rushed into the hallway with a face like thunder; "Caroline? You had me followed?"

"I tracked your phone."

"You tracked my phone?!" he questioned, completely outraged.

"Because I know your game every time you take a work trip, but this time, I wasn't going to let you get away with it!"

"Oh my god you're married?!" Rachel exclaimed as everyone watched awkwardly from the living room. "I am so sorry, I had no idea…" she said to Caroline.

"Of course not, his lying skills are _impeccable."_

"Ok, clearly this is something you two need to deal with, but not in this house. Come on, out." Lucas said as he herded them out the door.

"Rachel—" James said, but Lucas was quick to stop him.

"No, forget this address and delete her phone number. Come on." Lucas said they left the house and he closed the door.

Everyone stood there for a few moments, unsure what to do.

"I'm a home wrecker…" Rachel mumbled as Brooke was quick to her feet.

"No, you're not, that home was wrecked _long_ before you got involved." She said as she placed her hands on Rachel's arms.

Lucas cleared his throat; "We should probably go…" he said, figuring Rachel wouldn't be in the mood for company anymore.

"This was—fun?" Owen said as more of a question while he slipped his coat on, not really sure what to think of the whole evening.

"I'm an _adulterer_." Rachel said as the guilt started to overwhelm her. "I knew something was up"

"… at least there were no serial killer vibes." Haley added as everyone furiously nodded in agreement.

"… not helpful."

Peyton sighed, "So many rules in a relationship that no one bothers to abide by these days. People cheat, people sleep with whoever they want, people always leave." She grumbled as she looked over at Brooke and Lucas.

Owen frowned at her; "You're not driving, are you?" clearly the alcohol had gone straight to her head.

Peyton smirked; "Why are you offering me a ride?" she said suggestively.

Owen smirked back; "If you want one." Clearly Owen wasn't after Brooke, but rather anyone who was willing to sleep with him.

Lucas glared at him; "This isn't spring break Morello."

"Why don't you pay attention to your own _fiancée_ as you keep reminding us?" Peyton questioned.

"Peyton—"

"Night!" she shouted over the top of Lucas as she and Owen left.

"I guess we should relieve the babysitter. Uh… do you need anything before we go?" Brooke asked as she held Rachel's hand.

Rachel shook her head; "I'm ok."

"Are you sure?" Lucas reiterated, not liking leaving her in this state.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

Brooke hugged her quickly before she and Lucas left the house. What a night.

* * *

Brooke sat in the passenger seat as Lucas drove through the silent roads of Raleigh. She looked absentmindedly out the window trying to take in everything that had happened tonight, mainly, why Lucas was being a territorial _idiot_. It was one thing for him to be a little jealous over the younger residents, but he took things too far tonight.

"Quite a night huh?" Lucas asked.

"Yep." Brooke simply replied.

Lucas reached out for her hand; "You sound tired, you should—"

Brooke pulled her arm away from him; "Don't—don't touch me."

"Ok... What's up?" he asked.

"Nothing." She said with a passive shrug.

Lucas sighed. He wasn't in the mood for any games tonight. "Don't do that Brooke. Don't pretend like it's nothing-"

"Why wouldn't it be about nothing?"

"Because you're not letting me touch you!" he exclaimed as they fell into silence again.

After a few moments, Brooke spoke up; "You were so rude to Owen tonight."

"I wasn't rude, I was—"

"Territorial?" Brooke questioned as Lucas remained silent and focused on the road ahead of him.

"You heard what Peyton said at the door." Lucas grumbled. He wasn't exactly a fan of someone insinuating that his fiancée was with someone else

"Who cares?! She was drunk!" Brooke exclaimed. "She doesn't know what the hell she's talking about and it's insulting and embarrassing that you would get mad about it because it implies that you don't trust me!"

"Of course I trust you!"

"Really? Cause you have a really funny way of showing it." Brooke said as she sunk back into her seat. "If there is anyone in this relationship who shouldn't be trusted, it's _you._"

"What the hell Brooke? How could you say that?"

"Oh I don't know Lucas, because I've been humiliated before by you?" she said as if it should be the most obvious thing in the world. "Maybe you'll feel some sort of need to rush out a save little drunk Peyton because that's what you do. You save people apart from the _one_ person you're _supposed_ to love more than them all." She said, letting her stupid and unnecessary insecurities get in the way.

"Now who's insulting _me_ and embarrassing _me_ by implying that I would _ever_ do something like that? I don't know how else I can tell you that I do not have feelings for Peyton and I know I hurt you, but holding on to it isn't going to help."

"Excuse me for having trust issues Lucas—"

Lucas sighed as he gripped the steering wheel tightly; "I thought we'd moved past this Brooke." He stated quietly.

"So did I! Do you seriously think that I want to be having this conversation?"

"Then why are we?!"

"Because I'm being proactive in not getting my heart broken again!" she exclaimed. Brooke knew she was making a big issue out of nothing, but she was desperate to get the heat off her, so she turned it around on to Lucas.

"Is that why you've spent the last few weeks that Morello has been here flirting with him!?" Lucas fired back.

_"What?!"_ Brooke exclaimed. She hadn't been flirting with Owen, why the hell would she want to flirt with him?

"I'm not blind Brooke, just like you aren't apparently." he grumbled.

"There is a difference between being flirty and being nice, Lucas, but you know what, this explains why you've been so jealous the past few weeks, it's the only time you've really paid attention to me." Brooke responded. She couldn't even look at him right now. First it was the Harvey thing now it was the Owen thing. Why was that the only time he felt in necessary to show her any affection?

"That is not true—" Lucas said, a little hurt that she would feel that way. He loved her more than anything, why couldn't she see that?

"You know, I'd prefer it if you were just honest Lucas." Brooke said as she finally looked at him, tears in her eyes.

"Honest?"

"Yes, honest about whether you regret ending things with Peyton—"

"Don't be ridiculous Brooke."

"Don't tell me not to be ridiculous, I will be as ridiculous as I want!" she replied childishly, silently realising that this fight was getting out of hand.

"Why are you so frustrating?" Lucas finally quietly asked as Brooke remained silent. "You never give me a chance. You always assume the worst of me."

_"Don't_ turn this around on me."

"Isn't this why this conversation started in the first place?" he challenged as Brooke remained silent. Lucas sighed and pulled over on the side of the road so he could turn and face her properly.

"What are you doing? Why are you stopping?" Brooke questioned. She just wanted to go home.

"Because we need to stop this. We are not these people, we don't fly into jealous rages. We need to get better at this talking thing." Lucas said as Brooke looked down in her lap. _"Brooke."_ He said to grab her attention as he took her hand. "You have to believe me when I tell you that my heart it with _you_. What I did to you at the gala—it was horrible and immature and _stupid._ I know what life is like without you and I _never_ want to experience that again. I know the mistakes I made, and I have been trying ever since to fix them." He confessed as Brooke held back her tears. "I often find in life that people tend to sneak up on you. You fall in love with people when you're not expecting it or looking for it. I remember the first day that I ever saw you. It was when I first started out in Raleigh Med and I was working on a patient in the ER and you came striding in and I was completely distracted by you in that moment. You were the most beautiful girl I had ever seen—" he said with a reminiscing smile.

Brooke scoffed; "and then you tackled the hammer guy to the floor…"

Lucas chuckled; "Yeah… I knew that you were beautiful, and I told you one day, but—I could never have fathomed that it would actually turn out to be true. That you would be mine."

"Well I am." Brooke said as she finally looked up at him. "I have been since that Piper's wedding… But I am not going to be made a fool of again Lucas."

"And I made the mistake of letting you go once. I'm _not_ going to do it again." He said as he brought his hand to hold the side of her neck and she held his forearm.

"We can't keep doing this Lucas. We can't get mad and then just have sex in an attempt to fix our problems, it doesn't work like that, it shouldn't work like that."

Lucas gulped; "Are you saying you don't want to have sex…?"

Brooke laughed; "No, I'm saying we need to talk _more_ screw _less_."

"…less?"

"Just talk more, ok?"

Lucas smiled; _"Deal."_

* * *

A week later, Lucas stood in the kitchen making some breakfast for Sophie while Brooke got her dressed. Sophie had been thriving over the past few months and you wouldn't have been able to tell how unwell she was while she was in the NICU. She was now a happy and bright baby who had recently started out on the solid food game. When Lucas had finished mashing up some banana and yogurt for her, he moved to set it on her highchair tray. As he walked past the kitchen table towards her highchair, he stopped when he saw a bunch of papers from various hospitals across the country scattered on the kitchen table. He took a quick look and saw that they were fellowship applications. Why was Brooke applying for fellowships outside of Raleigh? He thought she wanted and was going to stay here?

He quickly moved away from the table when he heard Brooke come into the room with Sophie. He smiled as he lifted Sophie from her arms and set her in her highchair and sat down opposite her to feed her.

"Date night tonight?" Brooke asked as he nodded, and she kissed his cheek, before going to get her own breakfast. Lucas figured the fellowship conversation would be better saved for later.

Lucas thought about Brooke's choice to apply elsewhere for the rest of the morning. He wasn't sure if he should ask her about it, but then he remembered this whole 'talk more, screw less' thing, and figured he should ask. Just before lunch, he found her in a side room on one of the computers.

"Why are you applying for fellowships outside of Raleigh?" Lucas asked, a little harshly than he intended.

Brooke didn't pick up on his annoyed tone, and unfortunately decided to go for the sarcastic answer; "well, after residency, there's this little thing called fellowship and you kinda have to apply for them if you want to continue being a surgeon—" she said as she leant back in her chair.

Lucas rolled his eyes and crossed his arms; "Stop being a smart ass."

Brooke's face fell; "I'll stop being a smart ass if you tell me what your problem is. Why wouldn't I be applying for fellowships? I still want to have a job at the end of the year."

"You should have talked to me about it."

Brooke clenched her jaw; "I highly doubt that you spoke to anybody when you were choosing where you wanted to go Lucas, so why should I? You were allowed to apply to wherever you wanted to, why can't I?"

"Because I didn't have a family to think about!" he exclaimed.

"Lucas—"

"I thought you wanted to stay in Raleigh"

"I do want to stay in Raleigh, but it doesn't always work out that way—"

"Oh please. You're Brooke Davis. You can stay wherever you want to stay…" he grumbled. She really could write whatever ticket she wanted to.

Brooke stood from her chair and crossed her arms, matching his cut off stance. "Lucas, I have been _looking_ at places to apply, I _haven't_ applied anywhere, because you're right, that is a conversation we need to have, but we haven't been able to have that conversation, because I haven't seen you—"

"I don't really think you want to be starting a fight about you not being home for the past few weeks."

Brooke threw her hands up in the air; "I'm not trying to start a fight! And I _have_ been home, you know I have." She defended. She had really been trying to get away from here at a reasonable hour since the events of the past few weeks, but sometimes this job demanded she stay on.

Lucas scoffed; "_Barely."_

"You're being_ impossible_ right now so until you calm down and learn how to speak to someone like an adult, we're not going to be having this conversation." Brooke said sternly as she lifted her work and made a quick exit.

* * *

That afternoon, Haley walked into the chief resident's office to find Brooke sitting on the sofa making her way through a slice of cake.

Haley scoffed; "You know you spend way more time in here than I do, right?" It was her office after all, but Brooke liked to use it as a napping spot. The sofa in here was somehow far more comfortable than the on-call room beds.

"Su casa es mi casa." Brooke replied.

"Well, I'm hiding from Nathan, he's mad at me for applying for fellowships without telling him, so if he asks, I'm not here." Haley said as she sat beside he and took a bit of her cake.

"There must be something in the water cause Lucas's mad at me too…" Brooke said with a sigh.

"Nothing new there…" Rachel grumbled as she walked into the room and sunk into the sofa beside Brooke and Haley as Brooke rolled her eyes. She was right though. The past little while all Lucas and Brooke had been with each other was mad. "All you two do is fight these days, sometimes I wonder why you think it's worth your time."

Brooke sighed as she considered what Rachel said. She knew Rachel was feeling particularly cynical about love these past few days, but maybe she had a point. Why did she feel the need to put herself through this? Why did he put himself through this if he clearly had such a big problem with it? Their fight in the car the other day was explosive and some incredibly hurtful things had been said.

Brooke let out a scoff of disbelief at herself. What was she _thinking_? She knew _exactly_ why they put themselves through this.

"It's funny… sometimes I hate him so much I just want to sucker punch him through a wall but… I also love him so much that I feel like I can't breathe when I'm not with him. Any time it's suggested that we shouldn't be together my heart sinks. No matter how mad at him I am." She confessed.

They weathered the fights and the anger because of how much they loved each other. Nothing good in their lives meant anything without the other by their side.

Haley chuckled; "You guys are _highly_ dysfunctional."

"Dysfunctional is my middle name." Brooke said with a smirk. Considering her family history, it was a highly appropriate middle name. "What's the deal with the heart transplant kid?" she asked, knowing that Rachel had been struggling with a young patient all day.

"He won't take the heart because it's the heart that made him fall in love with his first girlfriend." Rachel explained.

"How… romantic?" Brooke asked as more of a question, not sure how to take this.

"Idiotic more like. First loves always hurt. No point thinking you can delay that." Rachel said, voicing her opinion.

"I can vouch for that one…"

"Do you think if Aiden hadn't have died you'd still be together?" Haley asked quietly as Brooke gulped. She'd never allowed herself to think like that. What was the point?

"I don't know." She confessed. "Back then—I didn't think it was possible for me to feel that way about anyone else. But Lucas proved that wrong. I don't think I believe in _the one_. People come into your life and they help define you. Some are meant to go, and some are meant to stay… but either way you take what time you have with them and you don't waste a second of it."

Rachel and Haley nodded and gave her a sympathetic smile as she rested her hand on top of hers.

* * *

A short while later, Lucas was standing on top of the bridge, watching the world go by him. He watched as Peyton abruptly glided through the hallway, causing people to have to try and dodge her. He chuckled to himself. She really could be very melodramatic when she wanted to be.

His attention from Peyton was moved when Brooke walked through the doors and started interacting with the people around her. A bright smile rose to her face as she talked with doctors and nurses and patients. She really loved this place and she loved the people and Lucas couldn't help but let out a light scoff and a smile at her.

"What are you smirking at?" Nathan asked as he walked over.

"Brooke. Even when we have epic fights—just watching her still makes me smile."

Nathan nodded in agreement; "That's love for you." He said before walking on.

* * *

Lucas made his way to the lobby that evening to meet Brooke who had gone to pick Sophie up from day care. He had so much that he wanted to say to her right now, he just hoped that it came out right. He spotted her walking out the front door, pushing Sophie in the pram. He quickly darted after her and called her name.

"Brooke!"

Brooke turned around and gave him a tight lipped smile when she saw him, unsure where they stood right now.

"I'm undone by you." Lucas confessed as Brooke eyed him curiously.

"What?" she said with a little laugh.

"I—I know I'm looked at as the perfect boy who has it all together, but I have my demons. I have my imperfections and you—I stapled a lap pad to my thumb today because I was too busy thinking about you and what I would do if I lost you and… I'm sorry. I am truly sorry, and I will support you and whatever choice you want to make because I love you so much. You're—you're _everything."_ he said sincerely.

"The choice I want to be able to make is to stay in Raleigh, Lucas. I have a life here; my family is here." She said as she looked down at Sophie who was sitting silently in her pram. "But sometimes, life doesn't work out the way you want it to. I just have to cover all my bases, and hopefully it won't come to finding a plan B. But I don't understand why you would think that I would just move my whole life without talking to you about it. We're a family Lucas. A partnership, a team. I would never make a decision like this on my own."

"I know, I know, I just—I panicked. I know we fight, I know to most people us being together seems insane but the thought of us not being together—it _terrifies _me. I don't ever want to lose you. I was watching you today—"

"_Stalker."_ Brooke joked as he chuckled lightly.

_"Maybe."_ He replied. "You just—you carry yourself with such light and love and elegance and grace and—it was like in that moment, I fell in love with you all over again."

Brooke walked forward and placed her hands on his cheeks; "You're not going to lose me. If you are undone by me, then I am _certainly_ undone by you." She said with a laugh. "You're this prom king, basketball winning four consecutive high school and college titles, plastic surgeon god—I'm just dysfunctional Brooke Davis I take one look at you and my legs feel like _jelly_. But we can't do this. We can't just scream at each other before having a rational conversation first—then we can consider screaming. Deal?"

_"Deal."_ Lucas agreed as Brooke smiled.

She turned back to Sophie's pram and began pushing it forward, but Lucas remained still. After moving a few metres, Brooke realised that he wasn't following them and turned back round.

"What are you waiting for?" she asked softly.

"… marry me."

Brooke raised an eyebrow; "You already asked me that."

"No, marry me _now_, _tonight_." Lucas made clear as Brooke's mouth fell.

"What?"

Lucas shook his head and smiled; "I don't want to go another minute without you being my wife."

Brooke laughed; "Are you crazy?"

"Maybe. Or maybe I'm just crazy in love."

"My mom would _kill_ me…"

"We'll have a party later." Lucas said as he walked forward and lifted her hands. "Just—_marry me_. Don't make me beg." He said with a smile—which she slowly but surely returned.


	30. The One That Stayed

**Hi everyone! Just to let you know - I'm having to take a break from updating this story for the next little while. Life and work have caught up to me and I don't have the time to update everyday, but I will try and update as soon as I can. There's still a little bit left of this story to tell! Hopefully this extra long chapter will tide you over for now...**

**Wo****rd of Brooke and Lucas's marriage spread around the hospital - and some are more happy about it than others. Plus, an old friend of Brooke's arrives as a patient in the hospital... enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Thirty – The One that Stayed**

The following morning, Brooke walked into the supply room that Lucas had paged her to. As she opened the door, she saw him standing there with his hands in his pockets and a smirk on his face.

"You paged?" she asked with a raised eyebrow as she closed the door behind her.

Lucas nodded; "I paged." He confirmed as they walked closer towards each other.

"Did you need help looking for something?" she asked as Lucas towered over her, their faces just a breath apart.

"I thought I did, but I think I see it now." He said as he lifted his hands out of his pocket, cupped her face and kissed her.

Brooke's hands roamed under Lucas's white coat as he pushed her up against the door—his brand-new platinum wedding band cold against her cheeks.

Last night, Brooke said yes and Lucas called in a favour with a friend of his at the court house. They took Sophie straight there and got married—and it was perfect. They didn't need a lavish ceremony, they just needed each other and their daughter.

Lucas removed his lips from Brooke's before attacking her neck as Brooke closed her eyes and tilted her neck to allow him better access.

"Does this door lock? We need to find a room. With a lockable door. God married life is _good."_ She said as her hands rested on his neck and head.

"I don't have time for that" Lucas mumbled regretfully against her neck. "I have a vagina to build."

Brooke's eyes shot open as he lifted his head.

"My vaginoplasty. This lady had 10 kids and wants to tighten things up down there. It's with my mom, remember?"

Brooke's face fell as she remembered about Karen Scott. Karen Scott who would no doubt throw a wobbler when she discovered they got married without telling her. "Your mom…" she mumbled. "She's going to be so mad. At _me_."

"No, she won't—"

"You're her baby, she'll forgive _you,_ but she'll probably think _I _tricked you into it or something." Brooke said, completely panicking. She had a good relationship with Karen, she didn't want that to change.

Lucas held Brooke's arms; "She loves you. And tonight…" he said with a smirk. "I say we cancel those dinner reservations and have dinner at home where there are a lot of doors and a lot of locks."

Brooke smiled, her mind immediately forgetting about Karen. "Sounds amazing." She confirmed before he gave her one last kiss.

As soon as Lucas and Brooke walked out of the door, their faces fell when they ran straight into Karen. Karen stared at them curiously for a moment, wondering why they were being so awkward. She then caught something glinting against the light in the hall and realised exactly why they were being awkward—they were sporting two brand new rings on two very important fingers. Karen's face fell a thousand miles.

"Hi, hey, hello…" Lucas said awkwardly.

"Uh—good luck with your vagina" Brooke said, immediately regretting her choice of words.

"Go, just go…" Lucas said under his breath as Brooke quickly darted away, trying to avoid Karen's death glares.

Lucas smiled awkwardly at his mother before realising that he should make his escape too. He walked away and quickly took one look at Brooke and they both started giggling. They laughed all the way around the corner as Lucas whispered some innocent—and not so innocent—nothings in her ear, until they came across Nathan, Kate and Rachel standing at the nurse's station.

"You're giggly today." Rachel observed as she eyed them curiously.

"Are you drunk?" Nathan questioned, knowing they were on rare form.

"Drunk in love Nathan." Brooke said as she rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Alright Barbie and Ken… you knocked up again?" he questioned.

"God no! We—we got married." Brooke told them with a bright smile as all their mouths fell in shock.

"… come again?" Kate asked, wanting to make sure she heard right. She had always assumed Brooke and Lucas would be one of those couples who would always talk about getting married but would never actually do it.

"yeah! Last night. It was totally unplanned and super romantic and I'm sorry you weren't there, but not as sorry as I was to my mother when I called her, I thought she was going to cry…" Brooke's face fell as she thought about her mother's reaction. She was happy for her, but also struggling to hide her emotions at the fact she wasn't there "…so, we'll have a party at some point but—we just wanted to do it and it was perfect and it was just us and Sophie and the judge and—it was perfect." Brooke said with a content smile.

Kate's eyes widened; "Karen and Victoria weren't there?" She knew that wouldn't have gone down well.

"I know. I'm a sucky daughter, he's a sucky son, and a pissy Karen and a pissy Victoria combined is _not_ going to be fun, but uh—we're ok with that." Brooke said, trying to sound assured. Dealing with Victoria was one thing, but Karen would be a whole other level of pissed.

"Well, congratulations bestie!" Rachel said as she hugged Brooke. "I'm going to kick your ass at a later date for not having me there, but we can be happy for now…" she teased as Brooke playfully rolled her eyes.

"Treat her well Scott, or I'm going to kick _your _ass." Nathan warned as he shook Lucas's hand and kissed Brooke's cheek.

"You got it Nate." Lucas replied with a smirk. He'd kick his _own_ ass if he ever hurt Brooke again.

"Well, looks like there's a lot to be celebrating today." Kate observed.

Brooke furrowed her eyebrows; "Why, what else happened?" she asked as Haley walked over.

Brooke gasped as she immediately caught a glimpse of the brand-new bling she was sporting.

"Oh… my… GOD." Brooke said as she lifted Haley's hand and looked her ring. "You got _engaged _last night?!"

Haley also gasped when she saw the new bling Brooke was sporting as she lifted her hand. "You got _married_ last night?!"

They soon looked up at each other, before breaking out into huge smiles and squealing. They pulled each other into a tight hug.

"I'm sorry you weren't there, we just did it at the courthouse, it was a very spur of the moment thing—" Brooke apologised as they pulled apart.

"I'm sorry I hadn't told you about the engagement it was—it was a crazy night." Haley said as they both smirked and laughed suggestively.

"Tell me about it—"

The others cleared their throat as they looked at them and bit their lips.

"Sorry…" Haley apologised. "I better get going…" Haley said as she and Nathan walked on.

"I better go too… husband." She said with a smile as she gave Lucas a quick kiss and happily walked away.

Lucas watched her until she was around the corner, before turning around to see Kateeyeing him closely.

He frowned; "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"It's been a long time since I've seen that girl that happy. _Don't screw it up." S_he warned before walking away.

* * *

Lucas walked round to his patient's room to discuss the upcoming surgery and immediately saw his mother waiting outside. Naturally, Karen was trying to remain stoic, but it was clear this was bothering her. Lucas was just counting down the minutes until a passive aggressive comment was made.

"Big day mother." He said as he approached, but she did not reply. "Something bothering you?" he challenged.

"I didn't say anything." She merely replied.

"You don't have to, your face said everything." He quickly retorted.

"My face isn't saying anything Lucas." She said forcefully before holding her head high and walking into the room.

"Allison, how are you feeling?" Karen asked as she held her hand.

"I'm ok. Excited to finally get my vagina back to the way it was! Honestly, you have no idea how unsatisfying it has been…" Allison replied with a little laugh. "It's crazy how a mother-son surgical duo is going to be fixing me up."

"Hm… but you know what would make this even more perfect? If my brand-new _daughter in law_ was here." Karen commented as Lucas sighed and closed his eyes. _Here we go._

Allison smiled and looked to Lucas; "You got married?"

"Yep. Last night. Very—very spur of the moment." Lucas explained.

"Spur of the moment is _correct_." Karen said through her teeth.

"We've been engaged for a couple of months." Lucas explained further, ignoring his mother's tone.

"and it's always _delightful_ to extend the family. Cause that's all the really matters isn't it? _Family."_

Allison looked between the two of them, clearly seeing the tension brewing. "Is everything ok?" she asked.

"Uh huh" "Oh, yeah."

* * *

Brooke walked over to Nathan at the nurse's station to question him further on this engagement. She was surprised she hadn't received a phone call or at least seen him blabbing about it this morning.

"Why didn't you tell me you got engaged?" she asked as she lent on the desk.

"I didn't want to parade upon you getting _married_ last night. Which I'm still pissed about not being there for by the way…" He added.

Brooke smirked; "You'll get over it." As she observed Nathan, she saw that there was a glow about him. A lightness. She didn't think she had ever seen him this happy. "Engaged. You're really engaged." She said as she processed it.

"And you're really married." He replied sarcastically. Why was she being weird about this? He looked up at her and saw that she was smiling at him and there were tears welling in her eyes. He grimaced; "Quit looking at me like that."

"Like what?"

"Like you're about to burst into tears of relief."

"I'm just so happy for you. My best friend is getting married to probably the best human on this Earth. All feels right in the world!"

"Don't say that, you'll jinx it."

Brooke slapped his arm as they began to walk down the hallway; "Don't be so cynical."

Nathan shrugged; "Default setting, I learned from the best." He teased as Brooke lightly slapped his arm.

"Did you ever think that things would fall into place for us like this?"

Nathan laughed, "No chance in hell… but I'm incredibly grateful that they have."

Brooke stepped forward and hugged Nathan tightly, fully appreciating just how content she and the people closest to her were right now.

* * *

News had spread around the hospital about Brooke and Lucas' impromptu wedding and when it reached Peyton – she didn't really know what to think. She was desperately trying to be happy for them, but a little part of her just couldn't. It was like she had never fully let him go. She slowly walked in to one of the labs and saw Rachel working on some research.

"So…" Peyton said as she fiddled with the things around her. "Brooke and Lucas got _married_ last night."

Rachel chuckled; "Yeah, they did. Never thought I would see that day."

Peyton frowned; "Why, did you think they would break up?" she asked a little too eagerly.

"I never thought they would get back together in the first place, he_ really_ screwed her over." She replied. "But you know all about that" she said with a glare and a smirk as Peyton rolled her eyes. "but I guess they were meant to be all along" she said with a smile and a shrug.

"Right…" she said as she shifted awkwardly.

Rachel eyed Peyton curiously. She was clearly bothered by this whole thing. "Sawyer, you and Lucas have been done for almost 2 years. Why the hell are you so worked up about this?"

"He's not the easiest guy in the world to get over…" she mumbled. She felt like she had it all when she had him and then he was gone in the blink of an eye.

Rachel nodded her head, wondering the best way to approach this before speaking up. "I saw the heart ache that Lucas caused Brooke when he chose you. It was—it was _horrible_. But she picked herself up and she became a bigger and better person because of it and the fact that they were able to get back to a place of trust and love is quite frankly astounding—but that's how I know how real it is and how _true_ it is. Brooke would _never_ have taken him back if she wasn't sure this was it for her. If you can't be the bigger person and let them be happy then you need to get the hell out of Raleigh. Because it's not fair and it's not right. Move on Peyton. There are bigger things out there for you than Lucas Scott."

* * *

After the awkward conversation in Allison's room, Karen was all too happy to continue it as they walked down the hallways, and Lucas was all too ready to defend himself.

_"_Oh I really appreciate you hiding this from me Lucas, yet again." Karen said angrily as they angrily stormed down the hallways.

_"_Yes, I married Brooke last night at the court house and no, it is _none_ of your business." Lucas snapped back.

"None of my business?!" she questioned in disbelief. This was her son of course it was her business.

"My love life is not any of your concern, never was and never will be."

"You really think it's ok for you to go behind my back like this?" Karen shouted as she turned to look at him. "Do you have any idea how hurtful it is?"

"Hey." Kate said, stopping them when she heard the righting. "Let's take this out of the middle of the hallway…" he said as he opened the door to a side office. They both reluctantly stepped in with Kate, who figured she should act as mediator, and sat opposite each other, their bodies turned completely away from each other.

"You know I love Brooke, you know I think she is perfect for you—" Karen said, a little quieter than her previous words.

"At least I know you won't be forcing her to sign a prenup then…" he grumbled.

_"Lucas."_

"What is this about? If it's not about Brooke?" he asked curiously.

Karen looked at Kate unimpressed._ "_I'm surprised you're not more upset about this" she said to him.

_"_Oh I am plenty upset, but not with Lucas and Brooke, with you Karen." she replied.

Karen raised her eyebrows_; "Excuse me?"_

_"_Nothing is ever good enough for your son, especially anyone he chooses to date and marry." Kate defended as Lucas proudly smiled.

"I already said that this isn't about Brooke!"

"She is brilliant and kind and so loving. Any mother would be thrilled that their son would settle down and marry someone like her and if Lucas dare hurt her—I'd come after him." she said sternly as Lucas's smile fell and he awkwardly cleared his throat.

"I'd expect nothing less..." Lucas said quickly as Kate gave him a firm nod.

"So what is it then? If it's not about Brooke?" Kate encouraged.

"Brooke is brilliant. Karen further defended as she turned to look at Lucas, ready to be honest with him. "But—it hurts that I have been left on the outside of what was supposed to be the happiest day of your life. I am elated that you two got married but I am not so elated that I couldn't be a part of it. That Keith and Lily couldn't be a part of it. We're a family and when your father left, I shut myself off to any possibility of having this kind of unit again. But Keith gave that back to me. Brooke is now giving it to you and—_I just want to be a part of it._"

"I'm sorry, mom. _Truly_. We just—we just wanted to do it. We just wanted it to be about us and no one else or anything else… that doesn't change the fact that we're still a unit and a strong one at that. My father may not have been able to keep one together but Keith sure as hell isn't him, and I sure as hell aren't him. Give us a little credit." He said with a little laugh that Karen returned.

"Ok good. Now hug it out" Kate said as they walked towards each other and hugged.

"Congratulations sweetie."

"Thanks mom."

* * *

That night, Brooke stood in the resident's lounge gathering her things to go home. Karen had agreed to take Sophie from them tonight a while back, so she was looking forward to some alone time with her new husband. However, Lucas walked into the room with Sophie in her pram.

"Hey" he greeted as Brooke remained facing her locker.

"Hey, how did it go with you mom, was it awful?" she asked as she put her shirt on.

"No, she was great, eventually…" Lucas said as he rubbed his eyes, completely exhausted by this day.

"Oh, well that's good—Sophie." Brooke said as she finally turned around and saw her daughter. "I thought Karen was taking her?" she questioned as she walked over and bent down to say hi to her.

"I think she just need to go home and spend some time with Keith. It's a long story but… I think we're going to have company tonight." Lucas said with a semi-apologetic smile.

Brooke smiled brightly at Sophie as she returned the smile; "Well there is no other company I would rather have."

Brooke lifted her stuff and left the resident's lounge with Lucas and Sophie. She wrapped her arm through Lucas' and rested it on the handlebar of the pram. "So… what are we going to do tonight?"

"Well… I thought we'd go home, get some dinner, maybe play a little in the bath" He said, referring to Sophie's night time routine, "And then when our little firecracker goes to sleep…. We can do all the newly married things that I have just been dying to do…" he said with a cheeky smirk.

Brooke raised an eyebrow; "Are you trying to seduce me Scott?"

"I wouldn't call it seducing if you're a willing participant _Mrs Scott_" he said against her head before delicately kissing her. "I love you" he said in a whisper as Brooke smiled.

"I love you too."

* * *

"Hey" Brooke greeted Lucas a few days later as she fell in line with him in the hallway.

"Hey yourself" he greeted with a smile.

"I'm on your service today"

Lucas laughed; "How did you manage that one?"

"Oh you know, having the chief resident as a best friend has its perks." She said with a shrug and a smirk. Haley really did her a solid this morning. "What have we got?"

Lucas handed her the tablet; "Throat tumour pressing against the jugular."

"Damn…" she said as she looked at the scans. This thing was a beast.

"Yeah… Morello is in on it too." Lucas grumbled. They needed a cardiothoracic surgeon and Owen was one of the best.

"Be nice Lucas…" Brooke warned as they walked into the patient's room to see Owen already there.

"Clay, it's good to see you again—" Lucas greeted, but his was interrupted by the patient.

_"Brooke?"_

Brooke looked up and looked shocked—but a good shocked. "_Clay? _Oh my god, hi!" she said as she walked towards him and hugged him.

"What are you doing in Raleigh?" Brooke questioned as she pulled back from him.

"I was at a medical conference here and I wasn't feeling too hot. Turns out I've got a big ass tumour on the side of my neck." He explained with a laugh.

"You're a doctor?" Owen questioned.

Clay nodded; "Neurosurgeon."

"And you two know each other?" Lucas questioned. He'd never heard Brooke mention a Clay, so who was this guy and why did they look so happy to see each other?

"Oh yeah, Cookie and I go way back." Clay joked.

Brooke playfully rolled her eyes; "Oh stop, no one has called me Cookie for years. Clay was Harry's best friend growing up, he used to drive me completely _nuts_."

Clay laughed; "In the best possible way."

"I'm not so sure I would say that. Clay is to Harry what Kirk was to my dad." Brooke said with a sincere smile.

"I was really sorry to hear about your dad Brooke. I can't imagine how difficult that was for you."

Brooke nodded sadly. "Thanks, it's been—it's been a tough a few years, but we're getting there."

"Hey, Harry said you had a baby not too long ago, congrats." He said with a smile which Brooke naturally returned. She loved talking about her baby—though she wasn't much of a baby any more. She was growing up far too fast.

"Thank you, she's approaching 7 months old now, she gets bigger and bolder every day." She said as she got out her phone and showed him a photo.

"She's beautiful Brooke. I always knew you'd make a great mom." Clay said.

Brooke smiled softly. "Thanks Clay…" she then turned around to Lucas and Owen who were awkwardly standing there. "Shall we get started?"

* * *

That afternoon, Brooke was sitting in the chief resident's office, eating her way through a huge bit of cake. She hadn't expected to see Clay, well, _ever_, so it had thrown her for a bit of a loop. If someone asked her what Clay was to her, she wasn't quite sure how she would describe it. As she lounged on the sofa, Lucas was walking through the hallways to find her, and wasn't at all surprised to find her in here.

"What's with the cake?" he asked as he sat on the coffee table opposite her and took a bit of the frosting.

Brooke frowned at his actions; "I'm hungry."

"Right… you want to tell me about Clay?" he asked, coming right out with it.

Brooke shrugged; "What about him?"

"I don't know, there were just some… vibes…"

Brooke raised an eyebrow; "Vibes?"

"Look, I know you said that Aiden was the only the guy you dated in high school, but I won't be mad if that wasn't the case—"

Brooke sniggered; "Lucas I wasn't lying, Clay was never my boyfriend."

"But you were something?" he was pretty much convinced that was the case and he wasn't about to let Brooke tell him otherwise.

"I haven't seen him since I was 18." Brooke said instead, not sure if she was ready to admit what Clay was to her.

"You're avoiding the question." Lucas said as he removed the cake from her hands.

Brooke sighed. Why was she so reluctant to tell Lucas? He was her husband, she could tell him anything. Maybe it was just because she had never really spoken about it with anyone before.

Brooke sighed, ready to confess. "… I've known him since forever, he and Harry used to do everything together and on the very rare occasion they would let me hang out with them and… Clay, he's a huge flirt, always has been, always had a way with the ladies, and I could flirt—but I wasn't all that smooth with guys and he was the only guy that I felt I could be _normal_ with. He was my first date, my first kiss. But I think he probably meant more to me than I meant to him which seems to be a bit of a recurring theme in my life…"

"Steady…" Lucas jokingly warned. Now was not the time for digs to be taken at him…

"I know I was only 15 when all of this happened, and he was older, but I put myself out there for a guy that was never really going to want me back." Brooke said with a sad shrug. "Not when there were so many girls out there who wanted him."

"Is that why you were so selective about dating? Cause you got hurt the first time?" Lucas questioned. It was the one thing that he never really understood about Brooke. She was so beautiful and compassionate and fun and smart and kind but she never really dated. He knew that Aiden had stopped her dating in her late teens and early 20s, but before that, he was her first boyfriend. Maybe Clay was the reason she stayed away from it as a teen.

"Yeah I guess so. I tend to fall for people a lot faster than they fall for me or something goes wrong. So Clay was disinterested, Aiden died and you left me at a gala… _sort of_. Anyway, I spoke to him once before I left for med school I haven't heard from him since." Brooke said, not really enjoying how vulnerable she was feeling right now.

"Did you love him?" Lucas asked quietly.

"I don't think I really knew what love was back then. Maybe in a teenage girl kind of way but… not in the way that I love you."

Lucas placed his hand in hers. "Do you still want to work this case?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Are you ok?"

Lucas frowned. "Fine, why?"

Brooke smirked; "You just came in here with your jealousy guns blazing."

"I know, it's totally not like me…" he joked.

"Sure… you don't have to feel threatened. He's just a part of my past." Brooke assured him.

"Alright… I'll see you later." He said as he gave her a quick kiss and left the room.

Moments later, Rachel walked into the room just as Brooke started tucking into her cake again.

"Wow are we eating our feelings today?" Rachel asked as she put her hands on her hips.

"Yep."

"Don't tell me there's trouble in marriage paradise already?" Rachel questioned as she sat beside her.

"No, it's not my marriage it's my sort of ex... I don't know what to call him but he showed up and need surgery on his throat."

"Wow, sort of ex?" Rachel questioned.

"This guy Clay, he was Harry's best friend growing up and he was my first kiss and my first date, and I really liked him, but he would never like me back in the same way and it's weird seeing him here… I know it probably sounds ridiculous cause I was 15 when it happened but… he was a big part of the first 15 years of my life. It's a serious blast from the past."

"Yeah, I get it… are you ok?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine… I just hope he doesn't rub Lucas up the wrong way. He can be a little… arrogant." Brooke said with a grimace, though Kirk Walker always said that all the best doctors are.

"I'd like to think that Lucas was mature enough to not take anything he says to heart." Rachel says as she affectionately patted her knee.

* * *

Clay sat in his hospital bed watching as Owen moved around him prepping for his surgery. He was anxiously waiting for Brooke to walk through the door. He'd forgotten how much his mood was lifted with just one flash of her smile.

"Will Dr. Davis be joining us soon?" Clay asked Owen.

"The ER is pretty packed today, she was maybe called down to help out there." Owen said, explaining why she was yet to arrive.

"It's not that I don't trust you to do my pre-op or anything, you are the attending after all, I just know Brooke—" he awkwardly justified.

"It's ok." Owen said with a smile. "Whatever makes you feel at ease."

As if by magic, Brooke walked into the room with her hands in the pockets of her white coat.

"There she is" Clay said happily as Brooke stood by his bed.

"Hey. You all set?" she asked.

"Almost. Will you be in the OR?" he asked hopefully.

Brooke nodded her head; "Yeah, I'll be assisting Dr. Scott and Dr. Morello."

"Great. I only want to best surgeons" he said with a laugh.

"Well lucky for you you've got two of the best." She said as she smiled at Owen.

"Yeah… you know I really missed you Brooke. You—you're as beautiful as ever." He said softly as he rested his hand on her arm.

"No, don't—don't do that" she said, not harshly, but certainly clearly.

"Do what?"

"Turn your flirt on. We're too old for that." She playfully scolded.

Clay smirked; "Not that old."

Brooke laughed; "You haven't changed one bit."

Clay shrugged; "In some ways I have."

Brooke looked down at her feet. "I uh—I gotta go. Work to do. I'll see you in the OR." She said to them both as Owen nodded and Brooke left the room.

"It appears she doesn't really want to be in the same room as me. At least when I'm conscious anyway." Clay observed.

"Yeah, it uh—it sounds like something went down between you too." Owen observed, not wanting to pry, but at the same time dying to know the story behind this one.

"I maybe didn't treat her as well as I should have. I know we were only kids back then, but I can tell you this. Brooke Davis is a girl that you should _never_ want to let go of. There's no one like her. She—she's the one that got away." He confessed.

Owen softly nodded and looked at him curiously. That was quite the declaration. "She uh—she's a great girl." Owen finally confirmed.

"You know her well?" Clay asked.

"Just on a professional level really, but everyone speaks really highly of her. I should go check in on my other patients before taking you into surgery. I'm sure Dr. Scott will be round at some point to have a final run through of things. But I will see you in there." Owen said as she left the room and ran straight into Lucas who pulled him to the side.

"Hey, I saw Brooke leave there, what did they talk about?"

Owen raised his eyebrows; "You really want me to tell you?"

"No, I'm just asking for you to completely ignore me." He said sarcastically as Owen rolled his eyes. "Yes, I want you to tell me."

"They didn't really talk about much… he seems to have a lot of regrets. I don't know what went down between them, but he seems really sorry for how he treated her. Said that if you have Brooke Davis you should never let her go." Owen explained.

Lucas frowned and crossed his arms; "Do you think he's trying to get her back?"

"I don't know. He could just be looking for some closure. Look, Brooke's been walking around this hospital like a ghost today. It's like he's opened up an old wound and maybe she needs some closure too." Owen advised before giving him a sympathetic smile and walking on.

* * *

Lucas watched Brooke as she looked through some scans in one of the computer rooms. He could tell that her whole body was tense and she had a lot on her mind about Clay. If this was the other way round, he knew exactly what she would say, and he was prepared to say that to her.

"You should talk to him." Lucas said as Brooke turned around, not realising he was standing there.

"What?"

"Clay. Get some closure."

Brooke leaned back in her chair. "There's nothing to get closure on."

"Brooke come on." he said as he walked further into the room. "He's clearly brought back some unresolved issues. It sounds like you didn't really say goodbye when you left for med school and I hear he has some regrets too."

"You talked to him?"

"No, I talked to—"

"Owen." Brooke said, finishing his thought as Lucas nodded. It would make sense that it was Owen since he was his other surgeon.

"He has regrets and I don't want you to have any either. So talk to him. I would also like him to be in the best mood possible for his surgery because I do not need the fact that your ex-boyfriend died on my table over my head." He said with a grimace.

"… he wasn't my boyfriend."

"Whatever you say."

* * *

Lucas was walking down the hallway when he spotted Clay coming in his direction. He frowned as he approached him.

"You shouldn't be up on your feet." Lucas reminded him.

"My toilet is broken, I had to find another one." He explained.

"Well, let's get you back to your room." Lucas said as he helped him.

"Thanks Dr. Scott" Clay said as he got back into the bed.

"You're welcome. So… you know Dr. Davis pretty well, huh?" Lucas pried, trying to play it cool.

"Yeah, pretty well. We uh—we dated a little when we were teenagers. It wasn't anything serious but—sometimes I wish it was." Clay confessed, not realising who he was talking to.

"What was she like as a teenager?"

Clay smiled. "She was the best. We were friends for a really long time and we had the chance to be something more and—I could never let her in. I just kept pushing until she was really gone, and I realised I'd made a huge mistake. I miss her everyday which probably sounds crazy but—even just as a friend."

"It's been 15 years." Lucas reminded him. Surely he wasn't holding on to something that ended 15 years ago?

"I didn't want to bother her, not when she was trying to start fresh after Aiden. She deserved to find someone who could give her more. It may have been 15 years since I've seen her, but we also spent 15 years as a huge part of each other's lives. That's something I don't want to give up on ever having back."

Lucas nodded and gave him a sympathetic smile before leaving the room, not really sure what to think of it all.

* * *

Due to a scheduling conflict, Clay's surgery had to be pushed back to the following morning, so Lucas and Brooke decided to call it a day and head home. While Brooke finished getting dressed, Lucas went down to the day care to collect Sophie. When he picked her up, he went back upstairs to check through Clay's latest test results to make sure all was in order before going home. Clay watched him as he held Sophie outside the window in his room.

Owen walked in; "hi Clay. I was just heading home, wanted to make sure you were feeling ok."

"Never better Dr. Morello. Thank you."

"Is there anything I can get you?" she asked.

"If you could get Brooke to talk to me that would be a dream." He said with a little laugh.

Owen smiled; "she's a busy girl."

Clay nodded as he looked back out the window. "Is that Dr. Scott's kid?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's Sophie."

"She's cute. She looks like—" Clay began, but then stopped himself when he put two and two together.

"What was that?" Owen asked.

Clay looked down at his lap. "the girl in the photo Brooke showed me earlier… that's Dr. Scott's daughter too isn't it?"

"… yeah." Owen said quietly.

"And he's wearing a wedding ring, so I'm guessing they're together too."

"Yeah, they got married a few weeks ago." Owen explained.

Clay scoffed; "Well now I feel like an idiot. Talking to you and Dr. Scott about Brooke the way that I have. Why did he let me do that?"

"He didn't want to sound smug or cruel and I wanted what was best for my patient and their personal life is definitely not what's best." Owen reasoned.

"She's married with a kid." Clay repeated as he processed it. "It makes you wonder if you could have had that life."

"Yeah… but I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and your relationship with Brooke was just a step in your life and split moment before you achieve what you're meant to achieve. You're an excellent neurosurgeon for starters—" Owen said, trying to get him to see the positives.

"I could die tomorrow. That's not achieving anything."

"Dr. Scott and myself are excellent surgeons and we are not going to let you die." Owen said confidently.

Clay smirked; "I like arrogant surgeons."

"Me too. Brooke cares. She really does and I know she wants closure with you too. She'll be here to talk to you when you wake up."

"Thank you Dr. Morello. I really appreciate your help." He said sincerely.

Owen nodded; "It's ok. I'll see you in the morning."

* * *

The following day, Clay's surgery went ahead as planned and it went well. They were able to successfully remove the tumour without causing any further damage. For the rest of the evening, Brooke sat beside his bed in the ICU, waiting for him to wake up. She knew having this conversation with him while he was groggy probably wasn't the best idea, but it had to be done.

Soon enough, he woke up, and smiled as best he could when he saw her.

"Hey" she said as she moved from the chair to the edge of his bed.

"Hey… so not only do you have a daughter, but you also have a husband… who was my surgeon." Clay said, not even considering pleasantries or surgery talk first.

Brooke nodded; "Yeah… I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"I think the diamonds on your finger should have given it away. I'm surprised you're here." He said as Brooke played with her rings with her fingers.

"I think I owe you a proper chat."

"Well I think I owe you an apology. An apology that is 15 years too late. I'm sorry for the way I treated you in New York. I was immature, and you deserved more. But I will be forever appreciative of you showing me how good your heart is. It proves to me that there can be girls out there like you. I should probably apologise to your husband too…"

Brooke frowned; "What for?"

"Before I realised he was your husband I practically told him that I wanted to salvage something with you. I know I could probably only get friendship, but he could have taken that to mean something else—" he explained.

"Lucas isn't one to feel threatened, I think you're ok… a little jealous maybe, but other than that." Brooke replied with a smile.

Clay smiled as she smiled; "Your face lights up when you talk about him. He seems great Brooke, I'm really happy for you. I'm glad you found him."

"I'm glad I found him too. I want you to be happy Clay. That is what I have _always_ wanted. I really hope you find it." She said sincerely as he put his hand on top of hers.

"Me too. You are far too good for this world Brooke Davis. Far too good."


	31. I'm Sunk

Hi everyone! I finally found a moment to write up a chapter for you... it's a fun one, so I hope enjoy. Let me know your thoughts in the reviews!

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-One - I'm Sunk**

3 months had passed since Clay arrived in Raleigh and things had been quiet around the hospital. Almost _too _quiet. It was starting to make Brooke anxious. She was expecting the ball to drop on them all soon and for some disaster to occur. Lucas was having to tell her everyday that she needed to appreciate the calm and that there didn't always have to be fires to put out in life. So, she was trying to live more in the moment. Sophie's first birthday had been and gone and Brooke and Lucas couldn't believe how fast their baby was growing up. She was a bright, bubbly little girl who had inherited her parents' good looks along with their big brains. She was already talking a little more than babies her age were supposed to be able to and she was quick on her little feet. She certainly kept her parents on their toes.

While Sophie had been thriving, Brooke had also been thriving in her job. She finally felt like she was back in the game. She managed to convince Andy that neuro was where she should be. It also helped that Clay had managed to secure a job in the neuro department too. He whispered a few good things in Andy's ear and soon enough, Andy was pushing to have Brooke on his service every day. Brooke was finally getting her medical dream and she was due to hear about fellowships in just a few months' time.

Clay's arrival in Raleigh had proved beneficial for more than just Brooke. He really slipped in nicely with the crew at Raleigh Med. He and Lucas had put any potential differences aside and formed a fast friendship. Along with Nathan, they were a strong trio, much like Brooke, Haley and Rachel had become. Clay also had taken a shining to Rachel. He found her bold and brash and kind of scary – and he loved it. He was so into her and it made Brooke laugh. She wanted nothing more than to see Rachel and Clay happy – and she fully supported this relationship. Well, it would be a relationship if Rachel ever gave in to her feelings. Brooke knew they were there, she could see it in her eyes every time she looked at Clay or even spoke about him. She was just afraid. She hadn't had the best track record with relationships.

So things kept ticking along and Brooke was trying desperately to watch the world go by and appreciate that it wasn't going down in flames. She patiently rode the elevator down from the resident's lounge to the ER one Thursday morning and as she was about to get off, she looked up and saw Lucas standing in front of her at the doors, his hands in his pockets and a smirk on his face.

"Are you sure this is your stop?" he asked as he body blocked her from getting off.

Brooke gulped; "You know, I'm—I'm not so sure."

Lucas stepped on the elevator and stood beside her, waiting for the door to close. As soon as it did, he turned around and kissed her, their hands immediately roaming everywhere. They were still living in their married life bliss.

"Being married is so great" Lucas said against her lips.

"Tell me about it. It's like we're just starting out again and it's _incredibly_ hot" Brooke said as Lucas's tongue dove straight through her open lips, taking in all that he could of her in this short elevator ride.

Eventually, the elevator doors popped open and they groaned by smirked at the same time as Lucas took a step away from her.

"To be continued." Lucas said as he got off the elevator with a smug smile. Brooke held back for a minute, trying to contain her own smile as her husband walked away from her. He could really make her feel like a giddy schoolgirl sometimes.

As Brooke stepped off the elevator she bumped straight into Haley and Nathan, who looked like they were having a stressful conversation. Brooke followed behind them from a safe distance, but close enough that she could do a little bit of eavesdropping.

"Why not Oakwood Green Estate?" Haley whined. Nathan sighed, "It's too pricey Hales." He said for what felt like the millionth time. It didn't long for Brooke to clock on that they were talking wedding venues and her interest was immediately peaked. "But, if you really like it then we can make it work." He added at the end. He wanted Haley to have her dream wedding, even if that meant spending a little more than he had anticipated.

"No, it's fine, we can look elsewhere." Haley insisted. As much as she wanted her dream wedding, she also didn't want it to be a burden for Nathan. "Glenwood Green?" she suggested.

"Glenwood Green is gorgeous, but you'd need a time machine. You'd need to go back at least 6 months if you wanted a date for this year. But have you thought about Blossom Grove? Oo, Juniper Meadows, look that one up!" Brooke interjected as she reached between them and snatched the tablet Haley was holding from her hand so she could look up the venues.

Haley and Nathan paused before turning around and eyeing Brooke curiously. How long had she been following them for?

"You know a lot about wedding venues in Raleigh Brooke..." Nathan observed a little confused. Brooke shrugged as she continued to look at the tablet.

"A lot more than us anyway. We've been trying to plan for months now but we suck at it. We just don't know where to even start." Haley complained.

Brooke's head shot up, "I'll do it." She said they raised their eyebrows at her. "Plan your wedding I mean." She clarified. "I know I only got married at a court house, but I had plans before that little _impromptu_ evening and you'll not be surprised to know that what I had planned was planned to a _tee_, so if you need help I can do it. I just need a date and a budget." Haley's face lit up. If she had no idea how to plan a wedding, who better than to ask her best friend to do it instead?

"Yes!" She exclaimed. "Nathan, we're doing it."

"Seriously?" Nathan asked. He had no doubt that Brooke would plan a great wedding, but to put it all in her hands seemed crazy. She had enough going on, she didn't need a wedding to plan on top of it all.

"Yes, we _hate_ party planning and if I promise not to just leave you at the alter can we let her do it?" Haley said with pleading eyes as she clasped her hands together.

Nathan smirked; "I think we just won the lottery."

Brooke jumped up; "Yay! This is going to be the wedding of the _century_." She said dramatically. "Send me through any details and I will get right on it. My god this has been a great day so far. _I love love!"_ she exclaimed as she skipped away.

* * *

_"Oh yeah… right there… oh god"_

"You are so _tight_."

"Tell me about it, surgery isn't exactly a job that relaxes the muscles…"

Brooke chuckled and continued to massage Lucas's back in one of the on calls rooms. He'd placed a lunch time booty call with her but as soon as he walked into the room and awkwardly stretched his back, Brooke launched at the opportunity to massage him and try and get him to relax.

"That's true." Brooke said as Lucas continued to groan as Brooke straddled his back and dug deeper into his shoulders.

"How did I not know you were such a good masseuse?" Lucas grumbled.

Brooke smirked, "It's one of my best kept secrets… my nana taught me when I was in high school, she's very into this kind of stuff." She told him. Brooke's nana was a little cuckoo and gave off real hippie vibes. It was amazing Ted turned out so level headed and stern.

"_Ow, geez._"

"Sorry… I did say this would hurt" Brooke reminded him. She had given him fair warning. "I'm a strong gal… and this is real muscle, unlike your _glamour _muscle" Brooke teased.

Lucas chuckled deeply, "Watch it Davis…"

"I like this" Brooke said quietly with a small smile.

"Massaging me?"

"Yeah, but it's more than that. The past few months, we've basically been like –"

"Two horny teenagers?"

_"No!"_ Brooke said with a laugh as she lightly swatted him. "We've just been having flirty fun. We've been in love and it's amazing and sweet and romantic and I just love _you_." She rambled as she leant down and kissed his cheek. "You know I love a good flirt" she said quietly in his ear.

"Well I can certainly do flirty fun…" He said as he rolled them over so she was now beneath him, causing her to let out a squeal in surprise and a little laugh. "You are so perfect" he said as he gazed down at her.

"Well nobody's perfect… but I need to be perfect in surgery right about now…" she said as she pushed him off her and stood up, lifting her white coat and slipping it on.

"Go kick ass baby" Lucas encouraged.

Brooke quirked her eyebrow, "Oh I will—" she said as she turned to open the door. Just as she reached for the handle, the door opened and smacked Brooke straight in the head.

"_Shit_!" Brooke exclaimed as her hand jumped to her forehead. She looked up and saw Peyton standing on the other side, looking at her with wide eyes. "Well… this is eerily familiar." She grumbled as Peyton grimaced.

"Sorry…" she grumbled. "Some charts for you to sign Luke" Peyton said as she dropped the tablet on the chair by the door before making a quick escape.

Luke walked towards Brooke with furrowed eyebrows and moved her hand away to inspect her forehead to inspect it. He saw a substantial cut across it. "Yeah, that's going to need a few stitches…"

"Are you kidding me? I have surgery!" Brooke moaned.

"Not anymore you don't. But it's ok, I can make it disappear." He said. He would stitch it up and ensure that no scar was left.

Brooke pouted, "Good because the only reason I married you was for situations like this." She teased. He had fixed up her nose after all.

Lucas quirked an eyebrow as he lowered his hand from her head, "Peyton does seem to be making it a habit of hitting you in the face with doors."

Brooke gave him a sarcastic tight-lipped smile and nodded, _"Oh yeah." _

"But yeah it is a good thing that you're married to one of the best plastic surgeons in the country…" he joked, even though it was entirely true.

"Oh _wow,_ way to blow your own trumpet…"

Lucas took a step back and held up his hands, "I could always leave it"

Brooke folded her arms and looked pensive, "Well scars are cool… especially facial scars."

Lucas grimaced, "Yeah, but is it really a story you want to tell? Oh yeah, my husband's ex-girlfriend hit me in the face with a door… _twice_…"

"You make a strong case Scott…"

"Besides… don't you want to see my skills?" he asked teasingly as he took a step back towards her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

Brooke quirked an eyebrow, "Oh I have seen your skills _plenty_ of times…"

"Then you know it's a show worth seeing again. Come on" he said as he took her hand and led her out the door.

* * *

Soon enough, Brooke was sitting in one of the plastics treatment rooms while Lucas began putting the stitches in.

"Am I the first girl you've ever tried to charm with your surgical skills?"

"No… but you're the only one it doesn't work for." He teased back as Brooke playfully rolled her eyes. "You may not have been the first… but you'll most certainly be the last."

Brooke couldn't help but blush at his comment. "It only doesn't work on me because I know better than to inflate your ego."

"It's not about ego. It's about _skill. _I've been trained to pay attention to every last detail when I'm working. To make sure every little piece of someone has all the attention it deserves. That my patient has everything they need. I may not be trained to slice open skulls like you are and poke around in a brain… but I do have a number of skills that I know you find come in handy." He taunted, making sure to keep as little distance between himself and Brooke as possible. He was deliberately trying to drive her crazy with all this talk of his skills – and he had a funny feeling it was working.

Brooke gulped, "Uh huh…"

Lucas let out a breath and stepped back, "And we're done –"

Before he could move any further, Brooke grabbed him by the lappels of his coat and pulled him down for a hard and fast kiss, her hands roaming straight to the back of his neck.

"Dr. Davis, this all feels very rushed…"

"Shut up Scott" Brooke demanded before kissing him furiously again. Lucas smiled against her lips before picking her up and slamming her against the wall, ready to let out all the tension this back and forth had caused.

* * *

Later that evening, Lucas walked into the lobby of the hospital to find Brooke talking with Haley. He assumed it was about this wedding she'd agreed to plan and smiled to himself. While he and Brooke wouldn't have wanted to change how they got married for anything, he knew planning a wedding was something Brooke would have loved to do. She really was living vicariously through Nathan and Haley right now.

He watched as Brooke said bye to Haley and bent down to speak to Sophie, who had been sitting patiently in her pram. He smiled wider as he watched Brooke make Sophie laugh. He watched as Sophie reached out and touched the bandage on Brooke's forehead, before leaning forward and giving her mom a kiss – just like Brooke did to her when she hurt herself. It was the sweetest thing in the world. He loved his girls more than anything in this world. He couldn't have imagined ever having a family filled with so much love and joy. Brooke soon looked up and spotted Lucas, smiling at him and beckoning him over.

"Come on, let's get you girls home" he said as he wrapped his arm around Brooke's shoulder and kissed her head.

"Yeah, this cutie is ready for bed. Aren't you love bug? Hm, I just love you." She said as she bent forward and kissed Sophie's head. She took the handles of her stroller and began pushing her through the lobby, while Lucas suddenly held back for moment.

"Hey" he called as Brooke stopped walking and turned around to look at him.

"Yeah?"

"Let's have a baby."

"… what?"

"A baby. Let's do it again."

* * *

The following morning Brooke was walking through the hallways when Lucas caught up with her. Instead of greeting him, she simply smiled up at him.

Lucas sighed; "Are you done giving me the silent treatment?"

"I'm not giving you the silent treatment. I have rounds—"

"Which you could talk to me on your way to—" he suggested.

"I just need to think." She mumbled quietly. It was quite the bombshell Lucas dropped on her last night and she didn't know what to say. She certainly wasn't expecting this. She could barely say two words to him and it wasn't deliberate, she just didn't know what to say.

"You can say no Brooke, it's not a matter of life and death—"

"It's not as _simple_ as that Lucas." Brooke snapped as she stopped to look at him. She pulled him into a supply closet as to not draw attention to themselves.

"This is an easy decision for you, you're not the one who has to carry the baby for 9 months, you're not the one who has to take maternity leave, you're not the one who is supposed to be starting her fellowship soon, you're not the one who was stabbed in the heart—"

"So you don't want to have any more kids? Is that what you're saying?" he asked as he crossed his arms.

"That's not what I'm saying—"

"Sophie is the best thing to ever happen to us and I just want to experience that again and I want our kids to be close in age so they can have that close bond—" he reasoned. Two years was the perfect gap in his mind.

"There is 12 years between me and Matty, 14 between him and Harry, I think we're doing ok on the bond front, not to mention the 30 odd years between us and Maya—" Brooke reminded him.

"Are you saying we have to wait till Sophie's 30 before we have another kid?" Lucas asked in disbelief.

"No, no, I'm just saying—let me think about it. It's easy for you to want this but I have a lot more to give up than you." Brooke reiterated.

"I'm not exactly an absentee father Brooke." Lucas defended.

"_Don't_ twist my words."

"Ok, ok. Think about it, but please also talk to me about it. This should be a joint decision." Lucas reminded her, before leaving her in the dark closet.

* * *

Brooke hadn't stopped thinking about what Lucas was suggesting all day. She wanted this so badly, but it was a huge decision to make. Another baby would change their lives completely. It was some next level parenting. To make matters worse, she had lost two patients today and it was heart breaking. She wasn't sure how much more her emotions could take. That afternoon, she hit the elevator button and the door soon opened to reveal Lucas. She reluctantly got on beside him, not sure if she was in the mood for his new list of justifications. They stood in silence for a moment before Lucas jumped in.

"We're good parents." He said.

"I know." Brooke bluntly replied.

"We _had_ good parents too. Well… _Three_ good parents."

"_I know_."

"We would be good parents to two children."

"Do you think Sophie would be a good sibling?" Brooke asked out of the blue.

"What?"

"What if she's particularly hostile to a new baby and acts out and goes crazy."

"Sophie is the most chilled kid in the world, you know that." Lucas reminded her. Yeah, she had a flare for the dramatic, much like her mother, but she could be really mellow when she wanted to be – just like Lucas.

Brooke shrugged; "I don't know Lucas, siblings change people. Sometimes not for the better."

Lucas pinched the bridge of his nose; "This is ridiculous…"

"I'm just making sure we consider all possibilities"

"That list is _endless _with you."

"Well then, we better get considering." She said as she patted him on the chest and exited the elevator.

* * *

Brooke rushed round to the scrub room off OR1 and managed to find exactly who she was looking for- Kate. She figured if anyone could give her solid and reasonable advice it would be her.

"Hi. You busy?" Brooke asked as she awkwardly rubbed her hands together

"Just scrubbing in for surgery"

"Ok I'll be quick then. Do you remember that time in our lives when you were literally the _last_ person I ever would want to talk to about something?" Brooke questioned with an awkward laugh.

"Yes." Kate confirmed. It really wasn't that long ago, but where was she going with this?

"Well, I am super glad we're past that and we can do this—"

"Spit it out Brooke."

"Lucas wants to have another baby and I don't know what to do." She blurted out quickly.

"…oh."

"Yeah."

Kate thought about it for a minute. "Well, do you want another baby?"

"Yes. No. I don't know."

"Pick one. Your gut instinct." Kate encouraged.

Brooke took a breath before answering. "Ok. I want to have more kids, I just don't know if I want to do that right _now_."

"Two kids is hard work, plus with a very demanding job on top of that." Kate reminded her. She wasn't trying to sway her either way, but she wanted to make sure she'd really thought about it.

"The last thing I want is for us to be absentee parents because we jumped the gun on having another kid." Brooke told her honestly. She wanted to give everything to her kids and she hated the thought of being in a position where she couldn't do that.

"I can guarantee that will not be the case. If this is an issue of you thinking you won't cope, then you shouldn't fear that. You're Brooke Davis. You're a _superhero_. You can handle two kids. But if it's about something else, if it's about Lucas—"

"No, no, it's not about Lucas." Brooke made clear. She would love nothing more than to repopulate the earth with him, but this was about her.

Kate placed an encouraging hand on her upper arm; "he loves you. I've never seen anybody look at anybody the way he looks at you. It's like he's genuinely amazed. If you want this—go for it."

* * *

Brooke's day really didn't get much better from that moment on. She lost yet another patient and as she was telling the man's wife that her husband was gone, she had an epiphany. She rushed home, burst through the front door and straight into the bedroom where Lucas was getting changed for bed.

"People can't be with the people they love." Brooke announced.

Lucas frowned as he set his shirt down on the ottoman at the end of their bed. "What?"

"All over the world people can't be with the people they love because life has a really cruel sense of humour and just loves to kick us in the as, so I can see how people think it's a little crazy that we, us—" Brooke said as she paused to consider what she was trying to say. "Our fights are epic and _regular,_ and people don't get why we bother, why we waste our time fighting and getting ourselves into bothersome situations but—people can't be with the people they love and we should appreciate and _treasure_ that we can be. We can be together we can have a life together, an incredibly passionate and crazy one but—I wouldn't change it for the world." She said, letting out a breath she didn't even realise she was holding in.

"That—that's good." Lucas said, a little unsure how he was supposed to respond to this. "I wouldn't either." He quickly added on to the end.

"You could literally have any woman that you wanted, yet you chose me to have this life with." Brooke asked with a laugh.

Lucas smirked; "I think it was more you choosing me. And why would I want aanybody else when I have you? Davis' are like rare gems—

"Oh god…"

"So precious but so hard to find, only the lucky few can get one and I consider myself _very_ lucky." He said as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

Brooke laughed; "You are such a _dork_."

"You have a hell of a lot of power over me Brooke. I'm completely sunk, you have been given every reason to walk away and then I throw having a baby at you and it's yet another reason to you to walk away—"

Brooke quickly cut Lucas off with a kiss. It was only a few seconds long, but it stopped Lucas entirely as he just looked down at her, completely captivated by the woman in his arms.

"I don't want to walk away. I _never_ want to walk away. We can be together when so many other people can't, we can go after what we want—and I want this. I want you, I want our family. I want a baby." She said quietly.

Lucas looked completely surprised; "You—you want a baby?"

"Yes. I want a baby. I want lots of Davis-Scott babies. I want the Von Trapp family except instead of singers we're surgeons."

Lucas laughed; "Now who's the dork?"

"Just shut up and kiss me."

And he did just that.


	32. A Kick From the Grave

**Royal Scott is still causing problems from the grave... enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Two – A Kick From the Grave**

A month or so had passed and in what felt like forever in the making, the attendings at Raleigh Med were due to be presenting their project ideas for the contest Lucas was secretly funding with the money his grandfather had left him. Lucas was thrilled to finally be competing with his colleagues – something he couldn't really do when Royal Scott's name was over every award and grant given in the medical world. Pulling things together for their presentations at the end of the week meant that Lucas had been spending all day everyday at the hospital. He knew it was only temporary but he was seriously missing Brooke and Sophie.

As he was putting on his shirt in one of the on-call rooms that Tuesday morning, the door flung open and Piper, the chief of surgery, appeared looking pale and frantic.

"I'm pulling the plug on your contest, it's done, over" He said sternly as Lucas furrowed his brow.

"Wow, wow, wow—" Lucas said, completely confused by Piper's sudden change of heart. He had been all for surgical innovation in the hospital, why the sudden change of heart?

"No, if word gets out that Royal Scott's grandson funded a competition that he then entered himself? That's just going to mean more _nasty_ headlines that we do _not_ need right now." Piper reasoned.

Lucas scratched the back of his neck. "I'm I missing something?" Lucas asked, feeling like something must have happened to warrant such a panic from Piper.

Piper looked at him funnily. He really didn't know? "I uh – I think you should probably speak with your mother." He said, before quickly shutting the door – only to reveal a half naked and shocked Brooke standing behind the door. That was quite the interruption to their little rendez-vous. Thank god he didn't see her, cause that could have been awkward.

"You funded the contest?!" she asked as Lucas sighed and ran a hand down his face. No one was supposed to find out, not even his wife. Brooke's face fell. "I think I'm going to be sick." She announced as she threw her top on and ran out the door, leaving Lucas still in a completely dumbfounded state.

Was _no one_ going to wait for him to speak?

* * *

After taking a minute to breathe, Lucas made his way round to the conference room where Karen had paged him too. As he walked into the room, he saw a random lady rushing around, writing on whiteboard, flinging papers all around her – and Karen sitting her head in her hand at the conference table.

"What's going on mom?" he asked cautiously as he closed the door behind him.

"Your grandfather seems to want to torture us from the grave too." Karen grumbled as the anonymous lady looked up at Lucas and smiled as she looked him up and down.

"Well aren't you just perfect for the camera." She said with a smile.

"Excuse me?" Lucas asked.

"Yes, yes this could work… oh! Also, what about your wife Brooke Davis?" she asked as she looked to Karen for approval.

"What about her?" Lucas questioned as he crossed his arms, not really understanding what was going on here.

"Honey, this is Octavia Mason, crisis management. She's going to try and save the Scott dynasty before it completely crumbles beneath us." Karen explained.

"Why does it need saving?" Lucas asked.

Karen looked up, "Have you not watched the news this morning?"

"I uh – I've been a little busy…" Lucas said quietly, not exactly wanting to admit to his mother that he'd been having a quickie with Brooke not 10 minutes ago.

Karen sighed and stood from her seat, taking Lucas' hand in hers, "A number of people are making some serious accusations about your grandfather. Mostly cases of medical negligence, violent assaults. All things that Royal paid to keep quiet. Now these people want more. They want justice… and I don't blame them." Karen said as Lucas silently nodded. He wished he could say he was surprised, but it seemed fitting that Royal would kick them in the ass even from the grave. It seemed fitting that he would leave Karen and Lucas to clean up his messes.

"This is ridiculous… the man is dead, we shouldn't have to be dealing with his crap anymore." Lucas exclaimed. He was so beyond livid that he'd ruined his contest and that he'd done so many horrible things to people.

"I know honey, but this is the last thing. We deal with these cases, we reduce the crisis and we can go back to normal." Karen insisted.

"Now back to your wife, Brooke." Octavia said as she sat down behind her computer and Lucas clenched his jaw, not appreciating this woman's tone at all. "We need to make her the face of the Scott Foundation and this hospital. She's a face people will remember and love and perception is _everything."_

Lucas glared; "This has nothing to do with Brooke, she's a surgeon not a poster girl—"

"Oh and your daughter!" Octavia said as the idea came to her. "A united, incredibly camera-friendly family is perfect."

"We are not dragging my wife and my daughter into this, no way in hell!" Lucas made clear.

"… it's ok. We can come back to that little nugget." Octavia said with a little laugh as Lucas clenched his fists. "So the lawsuits that you're facing—"

At that, Andy stormed into the room. "So this is how you get out from under the name of Royal Scott? A surgical innovation contest funded by his damn grandson?" he questioned.

"What?" Karen questioned.

"And that's out, ok…" Lucas grumbled as he sunk down into a chair.

"Lucas, you're the anonymous donor?!" Karen asked, shocked that this is what he'd done with his inheritance. "You put up the money and then entered your own contest?!"

"You entered your own contest?" Octavia questioned. Lucas pinched his nose. Seriously? Was _no one_ keen on letting him speak today? His own wife ran away saying she was going to be _sick_ before he got a word in. "Is this some kind of tax evasion scheme?"

"No! It was just me trying to do some good without feeling restricted by the Scott name!"

"Well that didn't work." Octavia responded. "Remember what we said about perception being everything? They would destroy you if this gets out."

"Well then let's not let it get out, alright?" Karen said, wanting to take the heat off Lucas. She sighed as she sat back down in her chair, "I spent my whole career building up the Scott name to what it is… and now he's going to tear the whole thing down. He's going to ruin everything good that we have done. I suppose I could go back to being Karen Roe."

"That's great mom, from your Scott son and granddaughter." Lucas said bitterly.

"I'm sorry sweety, I didn't mean it like that" Karen insisted. She shook her head and looked at her feet. "What the hell are we going to do?"

* * *

After a brief talk with Brooke, explaining everything that was going on, Lucas decided that the best and only thing he could do right now was to get on with his job. He scheduled in back to back surgeries. He just needed to be in his safe space and he didn't need Octavia Mason barking demands at him in an attempt to manage this 'crisis'. He just needed to think.

Meanwhile, Brooke had desperately been trying to get into surgery too – but she couldn't stop chucking up her insides. She was lying down in an on-call room, bucket at the ready beside the bed. Just as she was about to fall asleep, the door flung open and Peyton appeared behind it.

"Did you know?" Peyton demanded.

Brooke covered her eyes with her hand; "Dear _god_…" she grumbled. She really didn't need Peyton's annoying squeak making her feel worse.

"About the contest?" Peyton clarified, clearly annoyed about the whole thing. "I have _never_ cheated a day in my life—"

"Well good thing this isn't about you then Peyton, isn't it?" Brooke said as she sat up in the bed.

"Because of this people may not get the chance to benefit from ground breaking surgical innovation and everything I thought I knew about Lucas—"

"He has an explanation." Brooke said cutting her off.

Peyton folded her arms; "What is it?"

Truth was, Brooke had no clue. She ran out to throw up before they could have a conversation about it and when she spoke to him earlier, their minds had been elsewhere. Right now,_ her_ mind had been a little preoccupied with the fact that she couldn't keep anything in her stomach. She assumed he just wanted to do some good in the world.

"I don't know but he has one." Brooke said as Peyton frowned. She sighed; "Look, Peyton, I know you've known him for a long time, but _I_ know that boy through and through. Yes, he can be complicated but he knows his own mind and he has good morals. He is a good man and he didn't do this out of badness. He deserves the benefit of all of our doubts and if you can't give him that – no wonder you two didn't work out." She barked, a little more harshly than she intended, but she needed the message to sink in. In all honesty, it felt kind good sticking it to Peyton for once. She'd learned to bite her tongue over the years, but she felt it was reasonable for her to say something now. "Now, can you_ please _go away, there is a reason I am lying down in the dark." Brooke grumbled as she lay back down and Peyton grumpily left the room. However, as soon as the door closed, it opened again to reveal Kate.

Brooke groaned; "Oh my_ god_." She said before chucking up in the waste bucket beside her.

Kate grimaced; "Nice…"

_"Helpful_. If you're here to have a go at me about Lucas too—" Brooke began.

"No, I heard you were chucking up all day and wanted to make sure you were ok."

"I'm fine. Is that it?" she replied bluntly. As much as she appreciated Kate checking up on her, she really just wanted to take a nap.

"Here." Kate said as she threw her something in a plastic wrapper.

Brooke sat up to look at it. It was a pregnancy test. She looked at Kate with a raised eyebrow.

"You are trying. Right?" Kate asked.

Brooke couldn't believe that it didn't even cross her mind that she could be pregnant. She and Lucas had been at it like rabbits for the past month.

"… you're worse than my mother." Brooke said with a pout.

"You're welcome" she said with a smug smile before leaving the room.

* * *

After an incredibly long day, Lucas arrived home to the smell of something delightful coming from the kitchen. As he made his way through the house. He smiled when he saw Brooke standing over the stove cooking.

"Hey" he greeted as she turned around and gave him a soft smile.

"Hey" she replied. She walked towards him and kissed him. "I get why you did it. You wanted to compete, you wanted to get back in the game and… I get it." She figured he'd been getting a lot of grief for it and after thinking about it for only a short time, she could see exactly why he didn't and she didn't blame him in the slightest. He needed this and she was so sad for him that it was being taken away.

Lucas looked at her appreciatively. She was the first person today who hadn't gone through him about this. "Thank you." He said sincerely. "This looks amazing" he said as he looked over the cooking pot.

Brooke handed him a glass of wine with a smile; "A celebratory dinner. You were very impressive today. It was pretty hot." She teased, referring to his big surgery today that she'd managed to calm her stomach long enough to watch. Octavia had wanted him to perform a life changing surgery on a little boy for good press and he agreed to do it – but not for the Scott name. It was for the life he was changing. What anyone else chose to do with it was up to them.

"Oh really? Am I still going to be hot if I go broke?" he questioned as he played with the rim of his glass. It was looking like he was about to lose his entire inheritance and then some as a fall out of his grandfather's actions. Someone had to pay the lawsuits that they were fighting against.

"Are you going broke for noble reasons?" she asked.

Lucas shrugged; "Maybe."

"Then yeah. Still hot." She said as she gave him another kiss and walked back over to the stove.

Lucas watched as she set her glass of water down on the counter and then furrowed his eyebrows.

"Water?" he questioned. He figured he wouldn't be the only one who needed something a little stronger than water after today.

"Yeah, like I said it's a celebratory dinner." She said cryptically.

It took a moment for Lucas to catch on, and when he did—his face beamed.

"Brooke- you weren't throwing up this morning because you were repulsed by me funding the contest, were you?"

Brooke laughed. "No! Did you actually think that?!"

"I didn't know what to think to be honest, but I guess I do now…" he said as they stood a breath apart. "Are you pregnant?" he asked quietly.

Brooke smiled; "Yeah. I am."

Lucas's face broke out into the widest smiled as he lifted Brooke up and hugged her tightly.

He set her back down on the ground and placed his hands on his cheeks; "I love you." He said as he kissed her. "So much" he said as he peppered her with kisses and hugged her again.

"I love you too" she said with a giggle.

Lucas stepped back, his face falling slightly. "And uh—I'm sorry that our kids have the Scott name… that you're associated with it."

Brooke shook her head immediately; "No. Our kids have _Lucas_ Scott's name. _Not_ Royal Scott. There is a difference. You are not your grandfather, your mother is not your grandfather, you are not responsible for what _he_ did. You do a lot of good in this world Lucas and Sophie and this baby are going to be proud to carry the Scott name. Because it is _your _name." she assured him.

He nodded. Words could not describe how much he loved this woman standing in front of him and now he was getting to expand his family with her. Maybe things would work out for the better after all.

* * *

Despite the happy news that blessed the Davis-Scott household, Lucas still had some serious fires to put out. He got up extra early the following morning to go to the hospital to get things sorted once and for all, while Brooke got Sophie ready for the day—and tried to let her morning sickness get the better of her. After she'd taken the test, Brooke had a sonogram done and it revealed that she was only 4 weeks pregnant. It was still very early days and was surprised she had been feeling sick so early on, but her mom had always told her that a healthy pregnancy involved a healthy dose of morning sickness.

As she took Sophie down to day care that morning, she ran into Andy on the way. She knew he was in the middle of awarding fellowships and she figured he deserved to know Brooke's full picture before he gave it to her. She didn't believe that a pregnancy should hinder her chances, but she knew this place was cut throat and that was just a reality.

"Dr. Davis." Andy greeted as Brooke smiled at him. "This must be Little miss Sophie, I don't believe we've had the pleasure of meeting yet. I've heard a lot of great things" she said with a smile and a wave as Sophie smiled back before burying her head in Brooke's shoulder.

Brooke chuckled and rubbed her back, "she's not normally shy. She's my bright and bubbly baby aren't you Soph?" she asked as Sophie let out a little giggle. "But uh – speaking of babies. I know you're processing neuro fellowship applications—"

"Yeah and I think you know what our answer is going to be…" he said with a smile. Of course, they were going to accept Brooke, the position was pretty much already hers. "What does that have to do with babies?"

"I may have another one on the way…"

"Oh, wow, that's amazing congratulations" Andy said sincerely. He'd never come across as the friendliest of guys, but it appeared he could be decent when he wanted to be.

"Thanks, it's really early days and we haven't told anyone yet, not even our moms, but I know you're in the middle of awarding jobs and I thought it was only fair that you had the whole picture of what was going on with me—" Brooke explained.

"Brooke, you are more than capable of being a great surgeon and a great mother at the same time. It's not something to be frowned upon or to be considered a hindrance. This is wonderful news. Enjoy it." He encouraged as he walked on, leaving a relieved and surprised Brooke behind him. Maybe this would all work out for the better after all.

* * *

After leaving Sophie off and getting changed for the day, Brooke made her way through the lobby to get started with her day. Unfortunately, it was swarming with reporters, just waiting to take a jibe at Lucas should he appear. As she fixed the badge on her coat, Brooke was approached by an unfamiliar woman.

"Excuse me, you're Dr. Brooke Davis, right?" the woman asked.

Brooke assumed she was a patient or the family of a patient, so naturally she smiled and nodded; "Yes, can I help you?"

"I'm Gianna Monroe. I just wanted to know… how could you do it?" she asked.

Brooke frowned; "I'm sorry?"

"How could you marry into the Scott family, knowing the kind of man Royal Scott was?"

Brooke then realised that Gianna was in fact a reporter and was looking for a story through her. Brooke folded her arms, ready to take a bold—but controlled— stand. There was no way in hell she would allow this reporter to run with a story that could damage Lucas further.

"I didn't marry into the Scott family, I married Lucas Scott for who he was. His grandfather had no bearing on that." Brooke made clear.

"The Scott legacy has been washed down the drain, are you really willing to be associated with that? Or is that why you've stayed away from the press during this time. Because you want an out." Gianna speculated.

"I don't think fabricating stories is going to get you very in this world Ms Monroe. I am more than willing to be associated with my husband because he is a good man. I'm staying out of the press because I don't need mine or my daughter's life on display. Privacy is everything, which I'm sure as a journalist you understand and respect _wholeheartedly_." Brooke replied without a second thought.

"Dr. Davis… I don't respect anyone that remains silent when their family has caused serious damage." Gianna made clear as she straightened her posture.

"Ms Monroe…" Brooke addressed as she took a step forward. "I don't respect anyone that seeks to tear apart a young family through the acts of a vicious old man. I think you would be wise to stick to the facts and to stick to what matters—these victims who are getting their justice. Not looking for juice where there quite simply isn't any." She finished, before swiftly moving past everyone and went upstairs to work.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Brooke went to take a breath in the lounge. She had been mulling over everything she had said to Gianna and was worried something could be taken entirely the wrong way and ruin everything Lucas was doing.

She flicked through a pregnancy magazine for a short while before Lucas came in in search of some coffee and was more than happy to see her there.

"Hey" she greeted with a small smile.

"Hey… everything ok?" he asked as he walked over to the coffee machine.

"I had my first encounter with a news hungry journalist today." Brooke told him as she set her magazine down on the table.

"You're kidding?" he said, clearly annoyed. "I told them in no uncertain terms you were not to be dragged into this—"

"It's a free press Lucas, they can do what they want." Brooke reminded him as she stood up and sat on the arm of the sofa.

"Are you ok?" he asked he walked towards and ran his hands up her arms.

"I'm fine. I think I said everything right I just—I'm sorry if something is printed and it doesn't seem that way."

"No, no, I trust you. I'm sorry you had to deal with them." He said solemnly.

"It's not your fault. It's none of our faults. Are _you_ ok?" she asked he backed away slightly and ran a hand over his head.

"Well, I spent all day cutting cheques. We had $38 million before lunch, then I took a break to read a hard hitting article titled 'too little too late, how much did grandbaby Scott know?' Good stuff." He said sarcastically.

"Although it's unfair, it's also easy to sit outside a complicated situation and attack anybody who knew him." Brooke reminded him. It almost wasn't personal – these people were just looking for a good story and if they couldn't get anything out of a dead man, they'd go to the next best thing – his family.

Lucas nodded; "Right… but uh, here's the money I was able to set aside for Sophie and the baby. Everything I have may be up for grabs, but they can't touch this." He said, handing her the file he had set down on the table on the way in.

Brooke opened the file and smiled softly; "This—this is more than enough Lucas."

Lucas nodded. "They're going to be ok."

"They are definitely going to be ok. I was thinking about setting up trust funds after the baby is born. We can lock this money away and some of mine and nobody can touch this. Nobody can touch their future."

"Absolutely."

"But uh—is everything else really fair game?" she asked, knowing this must have been so hard for Lucas. He didn't want the money in the first place, but to lose it was a huge knock. Especially when some of his own money was having to be thrown into the mix too.

"Well, the foundation has to keep the hospital afloat, so… I want to pay all the personal settlements myself."

Brooke raised her eyebrows; "Really?"

"Yeah. I wanted to talk to you about it first. I know when we got married we agreed to keep our finances separate, but a big part of me still feel what's mine is yours—"

"Lucas, I love you for thinking to ask me about it but—it's your decision. For what it's worth, I think it's incredibly noble of you to do that. For these victims and for this hospital even though I _hate _that you feel like you have to. I know people will really appreciate that."

Lucas shrugged; "There's always going to be people who are out for blood. It's never going to be enough." He said pessimistically. He was afraid that this would haunt him for the rest of his life.

"I know… but the fact that you were able to set aside this money for our kids… it means a lot and it will to them one day too." Brooke assured him.

"I know… you uh—you don't happen to know anyone looking to buy a boat, do you?" he asked.

Brooke pouted; "You're—you're selling the boat?" After talking about it, Lucas actually did it and they'd had some great days out there. More importantly, it was treated like a man cave by Lucas, Nathan and Clay. Boy were they going to miss that.

"Yeah… I think I'm going to have to…"

_"Damn_. It's been a loyal and faithful boat." Brooke joked.

"Indeed it has, but it's got to go."

Brooke stood up and walked towards him, wrapping her arms around his waist; "Maybe one day, when the kids have grown and left us and we're hitting retirement age we can repurchase the boat and sail the Mediterranean."

"… well it looks like our retirement is planned"

Brooke giggled; "Honestly, I already can't wait."

Lucas pulled her in to his chest and hugged her tightly. When he held her, everything just felt so much better. He felt so loved and so safe.

"You're the best retirement partner I could ever ask for" he mumbled against her hair.

Brooke smiled; "Hm… say that to me again in 30 years… you uh—you want to go somewhere private? Take your mind off money?"

Lucas smirked; "Man, I forgot how_ horny_ a pregnant Brooke was—" he teased.

Brooke playfully swatted him; "Watch it…"

"You know, if we keep doing this every time I write big cheques we're never going to get any work done…" he said as their noses brushed.

"That is more than ok with me." She said, finally closing the gap between them.


	33. Numb

**Finally getting another update for you all! I have another one coming tomorrow so stayed tuned...**

**Peyton, Brooke and Lucas get some closure after a near death experience. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Three- Numb **

Two months had passed since the Scott empire had crumbled and things had been relatively calm in Raleigh since. Karen had rebranded the entire foundation as the Roe foundation and although people weren't forgetting the kind of man Royal Scott was any time soon, things were looking positive for them. Lucas had paid the settlement money and Karen was starting afresh and making the foundation into the support frame she had always dreamed it of being.

Brooke even walked into the hospital that morning with a skip in her step as she pushed Sophie's pram. She had just sent out Nathan and Haley's wedding invitations and for the first time in a long time, she didn't feel nauseous this morning. She was nearing the end of her first trimester, and this was the positive and welcoming sign.

As she walked through the hospital courtyard, she found Lucas at the coffee cart.

"Hey" he greeted happily when he saw them.

"Hey!" she greeted as she kissed him.

"Well good morning… and good morning to you too love bug." He said as he bent down and kissed Sophie's head as she giggled. She was a real daddy's girl, as much as Brooke tried to not acknowledge it.

"I missed you last night" she said as Lucas took over pushing Sophie's pram and Brooke wrapped her arms around one of his.

"Yeah, on call was a bitch…" Lucas grumbled. He'd really missed being at home with his girls.

"Unsurprising" she said with a laugh.

Lucas smiled at her; "You're in a good mood though."

"Well, I sent Nathan and Haley's wedding invitations out and you know how much I love love." She said with a dreamy look on her face.

Lucas chuckled; "Oh I do." He confirmed. "Those invitations had _you_ stamped all over them. Nathan is going to hate them." Recalling how he'd sniggered when he received his this morning. It also made him laugh that Brooke had sent him one as if they wouldn't be going together anyway.

"I know, is it bad that that made me love them more?" she said with a cheeky smile.

"Awful." Lucas joked.

"Hm. And today is the first day that I've woken up not wanting to puke my guts out." She added.

"Well today is a good day then" he said as he gave her another kiss.

"When do you want to tell people about the baby?" Brooke asked. They'd managed to keep it pretty well under wraps. Andy was the only person who officially knew, and Kate suspected it since she'd given her the test, but no one else was any the wiser.

"Maybe we should let people work it out." He said with a shrug.

"Oh yeah, let's wait till we're holding the baby in the delivery room, our moms would take that _really_ well."

"Well, you know how much I hate meddlers—" Victoria and Karen were the very definition of meddling moms.

_"Lucas…"_ Brooke warned and whined at the same time. She was desperate to tell her mom, she wanted to finally start talking baby stuff, not to mention Rachel and Haley too. They would go crazy for this.

"Ok fine, we can tell our moms." He conceded.

Brooke was happy for a moment before grimacing; "There's a problem with that…"

"What?"

"Your mom can't keep a secret. Which means Keith and Lily will know and Lily will then tell Matty who will tell Harry who will tell my mom and Martin." Brooke rhymed off. There was nothing Matty and Lily loved more than causing mayhem in their family. Ever since they'd met a few years back they'd instantly clicked. They were a devious brotherly sisterly duo.

Lucas raised his eyebrows; "_My _mom can't keep a secret? If you tell _your_ mom, she will tell Martin and Harry and Matty who will tell Lily who will tell my mom and Keith—"

"And so the cycle goes on." Brooke conceded this time.

"Let's just put it on ice for now. There's no rush. See how things go." He suggested.

"Deal."

* * *

After getting Sophie settled in day care, Brooke went upstairs to get changed for the day. As she was just about to do some rounds on her patients in the ICU, she received a page to come down to the ER immediately. As she rushed down, she found Piper and Bevin standing by the nurse's station.

"What's going on?" Brooke asked as she walked over to them. Before she could answer, a gurney was rushed passed her and into the trauma room. She looked at the patient – he looked so familiar. How did she know him – oh my god. It was Jake Jagelski. She hadn't seen him since the party but now he was here. He was conscious, but barely.

"Is that Jake Jagelski?" Brooke asked as she followed Piper and Bevin into the trauma room.

"Someone needs to page Sawyer and let her know he's here." Bevin said to anyone who was listening. Soon enough one of the interns rushed out of the room to try and find her.

Brooke stood there a little stunned. Had Peyton been seeing Jake? After all this time? Brooke had said a while back that it might now be a bad idea…

"Davis, can you get in here and do a head assessment please?" Piper instructed as Brooke snapped out of her confused state and rushed towards Jake.

"Jake, it's Brooke Davis, Peyton's… friend." She said awkwardly. That wasn't technically true, but how else could she describe herself right now? "Can you hear me?" she asked as she flashed a light in his eyes.

"Peyton…" He grumbled.

"Someone is looking for her, ok?" Brooke encouraged as she tried to get him to lie still. He was clearly distressed about something, but he was so out of it they couldn't work out what.

"She's here? She's ok?" he asked as everyone looked at each other.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Brooke asked. Was Peyton with him when he got hurt? What was going on?

"She—she warned me that the roads would be slippy, I s—" Jake said as he started to panic.

"Can we get a sedative here?" Piper asked as one of the nurses quickly brought one over to calm him down.

"He does have a head injury, he could be free associating?" Brooke suggested. They were all completely confused right now. Jake was claiming Peyton was with him, but the paramedics said he was the only person in the car. Where the hell was she then?

The intern who went to find her came rushing back and said her phone had gone to voicemail 6 times and no one had seen or heard from her today.

"I'll go ask Lucas, he might know." Brooke suggested. He and Peyton hadn't exactly been on the best of terms over the past few years, but they still spoke. She was one of his best friends after all, he wasn't entirely comfortable completely cutting ties with her.

* * *

As the other doctors took Jake to get some scans done, Brooke secured her scrub cap as she rushed through the surgical wing of the hospital and found Lucas sitting on a bench tying his shoelace before his first surgery.

"Hey, I'm glad I caught you—" she said as she approached.

"Barely. There was a huge factory fire, I've got a whole bunch of burn victims coming in, it's going to be a hectic day" Lucas told her as they walked on.

"Do you know where Peyton is? Have you seen her?" Brooke asked.

Lucas shook his head; "No not since Friday. Why? What's up?" he asked, stopping for a brief moment.

Before Brooke could reply her phone beeped with a message from Piper telling her they had found Peyton. It appeared she had climbed out of the car to look for help and had slipping into some bushed, knocking herself unconscious. It wasn't looking good.

"It's uh—" Brooke said, unsure what to tell him right now. She didn't want to worry him when he had to go into surgery.

"Luke, I've got a whole bunch of family members out here wanting to know what's going on, what do I tell them?" Rachel said as she rushed over to inform Lucas of the growing situation in the waiting area.

"We don't tell anybody anything until we know the full extent of people's injuries." Lucas instructed before walking on with Rachel. He stopped and turned on his heel, almost forgetting that he'd been talking to Brooke in the midst of the chaos.

"Babe, did you need something?"

"… nothing. Just some patient stuff, I can handle it." She lied with a gulp. He looked at her for a brief second. He knew Brooke like the back of his hand and he wasn't convinced she was giving him the whole truth, but he really didn't have time to over think it.

"Ok" he said as he rushed into the OR to get started.

* * *

Brooke rushed back down to the ER and grabbed a gown as she walked towards the doors.

"Did you find Scott?" Piper asked.

"He has a whole bunch of burn patients coming in, I want to wait until I know what to tell him." Brooke told her as Piper nodded and they swiftly walked into the trauma room they had brought Peyton into.

"What's happening?" Brooke asked as she put her gloves on and immediately went to assess Peyton's head injury.

"Her temperature is 68 degrees, she's completely freezing and she has a substantial head injury, initial signs suggest we'll need to relieve the pressure on her brain." Bevin told her.

"Ok, we need to keep her heart pumping while we warm her up, that means constant compressions." Brooke determined as she moved to the side and starting to do the compressions on Peyton, just as Andy came in to look at her head.

Nathan had since joined them and was desperately trying to get an IV line in to Peyton but with little luck. His attention was momentarily drawn away from Peyton when he saw Brooke suddenly rest a hand on her stomach.

"Macey get up here" Brooke demanded as she allowed one of the interns to take over. "You need to keep it steady, 100 beats per minute."

"Are you alright?" Nathan asked quietly as Brooke took a step back. She was acting like she had just been stabbed or something.

Brooke nodded; "Fine, fine." She assured her. She had a twinge in her stomach that didn't feel normal, but all thoughts of the baby were pushed to the back of her mind in that moment. Peyton was their priority.

"Davis, you need to take it easy." Andy instructed as Brooke nodded her head and took a step back.

Nathan eyed her curiously, "Why do you need to take it easy?"

"I'm pregnant" she said quietly. Everybody in the room wanted to congratulate her, but they knew this wasn't the time or the place. The congratulations would come later.

"We have to tell Lucas." Bevin announced. She knew he would want to be here for this.

"He has a patient on the table." Brooke said firmly, standing by her decision not to tell him right now.

"This is Peyton we're talking about—"

"I know Bevin, but right now we don't need people with big feelings, we need people who can help." Brooke added. Lucas going crazy would not have helped this situation. Despite how the ended, they still meant a hell of a lot to each other, especially considering all they've gone through together as surgeons, nothing was going to change that.

"We need to get to theatre now so we can heat her up and get her on bypass, we can't sustain these chest compressions for much longer." Piper concluded.

"We also need to relieve the pressure on her brain or she's going to stroke out, let's move people!" Andy announced as the swiftly pulled Peyton's gurney from the room and towards the OR.

* * *

The doctors soon managed to get Peyton up to an OR just as Lucas and Rachel were finishing up their first surgery and leaving the opposite OR.

"So all of it went to Royal Scott's victims? All of your inheritance?" Rachel asked him as she left. She'd heard it all from Brooke, but she still couldn't quite believe it.

"I am essentially broke, yeah." He said as Rachel let out a laugh "and that's funny, nice."

"No, it's just that you're 'broke' other than your 6-figure salary as a plastic surgeon, your fancy house—"

"Ok—"

"Not to mention that your wife has a pretty hefty trust fund and inheritance herself—"

"Yeah—"

"You can't take all of it, we need it" they heard a nurse exclaim from the other end of the hall. They turned around and watched as Macey practically wrestle the nurse for the blood bags.

"We need all of it, I was told to get all that I could find." Macey told her, but she wasn't having any of it.

"We're trying to save Dr. Sawyer's life, you need to find more!." Macey exclaimed as Lucas and Rachel's faces fell.

"What did you just say?" he questioned.

Parker gulped. Before he could answer, Lucas ran down the hallway looking into all the OR doors. He soon spotted Piper, Bevin, Andy, Brooke, Nathan and Owen all standing and he knew she had to be in there. There was no other reason for them all to be in there. He burst through the door and his worst fears were realised—Peyton was lying on the table. He surveyed the scene in front of him and realised that there were multiple surgeries going on at once. She was on bypass and Andy was working on her brain.

"What the hell has been going on?" Lucas asked quietly as everyone remained silent. "How long has she been like this?"

Brooke gulped, not willing herself to look at Lucas. "Three hours"

"Three hours?! Why they hell didn't you say something?!" he exclaimed. He now realised why Brooke had been asking him where Peyton was. She should have told him there and then.

"Luke, let's go." Brooke said as she walked towards him and pulled him into the scrub room.

"Brooke, we need to be in there—"

"No, we need to be in here." Brooke said as she took her gown and gloves off and began to scrub her hands. "Peyton doesn't need big feelings right now. She needs the best doctors that she can get. I know this is scary… but you cannot be in there. Ok?"

Lucas let out a breath and nodded his head. He knew she was right, but it didn't make this any easier. He cared about Peyton. She really hadn't made their lives easy, but he couldn't hold a grudge after all they had been through. Brooke couldn't hold a grudge either – it just wasn't in her nature.

* * *

Peyton had come through her surgery successfully. They managed to warm her up and fix the bleed in her brain, now all they had to do was wait for her to wake up. They all took it in turns to sit beside Peyton until she woke up. Lucas however did not leave her side. He had no intention of leaving her side until she opened her eyes. He couldn't help but feel guilty over seeing her lying there. He didn't anticipate how scary he would find if Peyton had died without them ever making amends. While they weren't necessarily in a bad place, they weren't in a good one either. He just wanted to make things right. He just wanted some peace.

Rachel and Brooke sat outside the ICU, taking a moment away from all the madness to just breathe and contemplate what had just happened.

"Peyton took a lot from me…" Brooke said, breaking the silence. "and I hated her for it. Then—then I took it right back… and a part of me hated _myself_ for it." She confessed as she looked at her hands. "She means so much to Lucas. They went through _so much_ together and seeing him like this… I can't bare it. Despite everything… I really believe she deserves a bit of happiness in her life. It's just a pity that our worlds had to collide to viciously. She can't die."

"She's not going to die." Rachel said with certainty as she took Brooke's hand in hers. They sat in a moment of silence before Brooke gulped and spoke up, ready to confess something to her best friend.

"I uh… Lucas and I didn't want to tell anybody yet but uh… I'm 12 weeks pregnant" Brooke said quietly as Rachel smiled at her softly.

"I had a funny feeling you were… call it a best friend's intuition" Rachel said with a wink as Brooke smiled softly. "Congrats Brookie"

"Don't congratulate me yet. I uh—those compressions took a lot out of me and I've been cramping all day. I'm too scared to check for blood." Brooke said sadly. She knew she had to face this now or never.

"… come on." Rachel said as she pulled her up from her seat, ready to support her no matter what. "Let's get you checked out."

* * *

The hospital staff came and went from Peyton's room all day, not only to be there for Peyton, but to be a support for Lucas too. He hadn't left her side all day, apart from when they were transferring Peyton from the OR to the ICU. Then, he had hugged Brooke with everything that was in him, beyond thankful that she was here and ok. Then he went down to the day care and hugged Sophie with everything that was in him again. She of course just thought her daddy was giving her a loving hug and happily smiled along and squeezed him back, not realising the distress he was in.

As he sat by her bed, he remembered something Andy had said when he last checked in on her. He told him to keep talking to her. It was amazing what people in a coma could hear a process. It just might be what could bring her back. Lucas wasn't so convinced that his words would do any good, but he had to at least try.

"I – I am so sorry Peyton." Lucas said quietly. "We got ourselves into a really messy situation and I let it escalate and I broke our bond beyond repair. I'm sorry that I ruined our friendship. I'm sorry that I never fought to get it back. I'm sorry that I never fought to make things right with you." He said as he leaned forward and took her hand in his. "It's time we let the past be in the past and just be happy for each other and support each other. So please wake up. _Please."_

Suddenly, he felt her hand squeeze his. His head shot up as he gulped—and she squeezed his hand again.

"Hey…" he said quietly and he watched as she opened her eyes and looked right at him.

* * *

After Andy examined her, it was clear that Peyton miraculously had no brain deficits. The fact that her body was so cold had preserved her brain and then as soon as she was found, oxygen was pumped through her lungs. It would take her some time to recover fully, but she was on the mend. She would be ok.

Before going home that night, Brooke went up to the ICU to check on her. When she arrived, she saw that she was asleep. She looked at her monitors, and then felt a hand take hers. She looked down and saw Peyton holding her hand tightly and smiling up at her.

"Hey" Brooke said as she sat on the edge of her bed. "Lucas just went to check on Sophie. He's been needed regular hugs from her today. He'll be back soon."

Peyton smirked; "He does not need to sit by my beside…"

"He just wants to make sure you're ok. He loves you a lot." Brooke told her.

"Yeah. I love him too… and you are his true love." Peyton said.

Brooke scoffed; "If you believe in that stuff…"

"I do. Weirdly I do. Thank you, Brooke. For the way you love Lucas for—for really fighting for me today. I'm so glad Lucas has you in his corner—_forever_. And uh… congrats on the baby." She said with as big a smile as she could muster in her ill state.

"What?" Brooke asked. How did she know.

Peyton nodded towards Brooke's coat pocket; "Your sonogram is sticking out of your pocket."

Brooke laughed to herself as she lifted the photo out. Rachel had taken her for a sonogram and revealed that everything was ok. Her baby was healthy.

"Thank you" Brooke said in response to Peyton's congratulations as she let her see the sonogram. "Life is a crazy, crazy thing."

Peyton chuckled; "Tell me about it."

* * *

After saying goodnight to Peyton, Brooke made her way round to one of the attending's lounges in search of Lucas. It had been an exceptionally long day and she ready to get home. When she opened the door, she smiled softly when she saw Lucas sitting in one of the armchairs with Sophie fast asleep in his arms.

"Hi" she greeted quietly as Lucas looked up and smiled at her.

"Hi" he replied, so very happy to see her.

Brooke walked towards them and sat on the coffee table opposite them, briefly pushing one of Sophie's brown curls out of her face.

"We make them cute don't we…" Brooke bragged at her baby as Lucas snorted.

"You bet your ass we do." He replied as he rested his nose against Sophie's head, taking in that sweet baby smell. She was just growing up far too fast and Lucas was determined to cherish these little moments he could have with her.

"How are you doing?" Brooke asked as she rested her hand on his knee.

Lucas nodded, "I'm ok. It's just been a rough day."

"Yeah, it really has… if anyone can handle rough days, it's you." Brooke encouraged.

"Only because I know I have you by my side." Lucas replied without missing a beat. He wasn't sure he could ever get through days like today without her.

"Always." Brooke said with certainty. She hoped she would never have to go through days like today without him either. They were each other's rock and that would never change. "I'm glad things have been put right with Peyton. We waited far too long to do it."

"Yeah, I'm glad too. She was a big part of my life, you know?"

"Yeah, I know." Brooke said with a nod. She would never want to take that away from Lucas, just like he would never want to take her experiences with Aiden or Julian away from her. "Come on, let's get this little lady home." She said as Lucas carefully stood up, trying not to wake Sophie.

"This is going to be like walking through a mine field… one wrong step and she wakes up and we don't sleep tonight." Lucas said as he cautiously walked through the lounge and towards the door.

"That sounds like a challenge Scott" Brooke joked as Lucas tried not to laugh. Trust Brooke to make a game out of this. "You know… I kind of love that a potential sleepless night due to our daughter is our reality. It just reminds me how lucky we are to have what we have."

"Yeah… I am incredibly grateful for what I have today." Lucas said with a nod. It was clear that it had been on his mind quite a lot over the past few days.

"I love you Lucas Scott"

"I love you too Pretty Girl"


	34. A Glorious Mess

**Chapter Thirty-Four – A Glorious Mess **

8 weeks later, Peyton had recovered from her near-death experience and had made some pretty big life decisions. She felt like she hadn't seen enough of the world and wanted to experience it because you just never know when life could escape from you. So she quit her job at Raleigh Med and nobody really knew how to take it, especially Lucas. They'd made amends and they were all friends and it seemed strange that she wouldn't be in the hospital anymore. They'd worked together for a long time after all.

In other news, it was the day of Haley and Nathan's wedding and everyone was excited. They knew Brooke would have planned an extravagant success. Nathan had arrived at Brooke and Lucas' house to get ready while Brooke got Haley ready at their house. Lucas was under strict instructions from Brooke to make sure Nathan kept to schedule. Brooke was on a mission to make this the most beautiful wedding in the history of Raleigh.

"Ok, so we need to leave here in 15 minutes otherwise Brooke said she's going to _destroy_ you." Lucas warned Nathan as they, along with Clay, got ready for the big day.

Nathan grimaced; "Destroy me?"

"That's what she said to say and she's _very_ organised today. She's got Rachel as her right-hand man and they're _not_ messing around." Lucas informed them. Rachel and Brooke were a seriously deadly duo that was for sure.

Suddenly, the bedroom door swung open and Haley appeared with a smile on her face as Brooke and Rachel rushed in after her.

"Wow, I thought we weren't supposed to see each other today?" Nathan asked, not even hiding the smile on his face.

"You're not!" Brooke exclaimed. "She got in her car and drove away from me, I had to _run_ after her, which is entirely unfair considering I am housing another human being inside of me. Haley, you are _not_ messing up this day, no way in hell!" Brooke warned, but Haley couldn't care less.

"Mass Gen! I got the fellowship at Mass Gen!" Haley announced as Nathan's face beamed.

"What?!" Nathan exclaimed as Clay walked out of the bathroom.

Brooke glared at Lucas, looking for him to back her up. He awkwardly cleared his throat "Uh Brooke's right guys, you shouldn't see each other until later."

"Yeah you two cannot talk, you eloped at midnight after you got in a huge fight." Nathan reminded them as they both pouted.

"Whatever…" Brooke grumbled. When he put it like that it sounded pretty bad but in head it was awfully romantic.

"It's ok Brooke, we don't believe in that stuff" Haley insisted. She just wanted to tell Nathan about her fellowship offer in general medicine, it was a huge deal, Mass Gen was a huge deal.

"Haley" Rachel said as she turned Haley and held on to her shoulders. "We are all incredibly proud of you, but don't – don't tell Brooke that. She needs you to believe in this stuff, just for this day." She begged.

"I need you all to pretend!" Brooke exclaimed.

"And Brooke come on! Be excited! You also got Mass Gen, Johns Hopkins and Mayo." Haley reminded her. Despite wanting to stay in Raleigh, Brooke sent the applications off anyway—for both trauma and neuro and was pleasantly surprised by the response.

Brooke walked forward and guided Haley towards the door; "I know, it's very exciting, we're geniuses, and I _promise_ we will celebrate that genius _after_ we get you down that aisle. Rachel, come with me, Nathan, you're with Lucas and Clay, we will see you there. _Let's go." _Brooke said affirmatively as she and Rachel pushed Haley out the door.

* * *

Later that morning, Brooke had changed into her dress—her small baby bump protruding nicely. She didn't know why, but for 20 weeks she felt _huge_ and she was feeling a little self-conscious. Naturally, Lucas told her how beautiful she looked every single day and that gave her a little boost,.

She walked round the venue setting the last few things up for the wedding while Lucas walked behind her, and Sophie ran around at their feet.

"Peyton quit. She actually quit." Lucas said.

Brooke furrowed her eyebrows; "That happened weeks ago."

"No, I'm saying she quit her job to travel the world and branch out and it's just made me wonder – what am I doing? Should I be doing something else? Should I be seeing more?" Lucas said, the whole thing clearly causing him turmoil. It was like Peyton's near-death experience had been his experience too and he was feeling the ripple affects. He wondered if he was wasting time performing surgery after surgery. He wondered if he should be doing more.

Brooke turned to look at him; "Lucas you don't have to branch out into the world to feel satisfied with life."

"I know, and it's not that I'm not satisfied I just – I don't want to live with any regrets, you know?"

Brooke gave him a sympathetic smile, "I know… but I don't know what the future holds. No one does."

Lucas wrapped his arms around her waist; "But you'll be there, right? Every step of the way?"

Brooke smiled; "Always." She assured him.

She kissed his cheek before breaking away from him and looking back to her place settings.

"So… what are you going to do about all these fellowship offers?" he questioned. He was immensely proud of her for getting them, but she had barely said a word.

She scoffed; "That is a good question…"

"You are a highly sought-after woman Dr. Davis. The medical world is your oyster." Lucas said with a smile as he put his hands in his pockets.

"It appears that way…" she said, returning his smile. "but we talked about this way back when I was applying, I want to be able to stay in Raleigh, this is where our home is."

"I know but… it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to head east."

Brooke's mouth dropped; "Are you serious? You gave me so much crap for even applying east!" she exclaimed as she swatted his chest.

"I freaked out! I said I was sorry and if I hadn't have freaked out we might not be married right now. Just engaged." He reminded her with one of his signature smirks.

"Oh, that's always reassuring to hear—my marriage is the result of a _freak out_."

"Not what I meant—"

"Would you seriously move to Boston? Or Baltimore?" she questioned, not quite believing that he was serious.

Lucas shrugged. "If that's where you really wanted to be then yeah. I would. I know this is our home but—our home can be anywhere that we are."

"I know this probably sounds crazy but… a part of me feels like we're not done with Raleigh yet. Like there is so much good we could do here, and this is where our family is supposed to be. Where baby no.2 is meant to be born" she said as she rested her hand on her stomach.

Lucas nodded; "If that's what you want to do then I fully support you."

"Alright… but I'm not saying we'll never branch out a little. But right now, let's stay."

Before their conversation could continue, Haley walked out into the court yard with a huge smile on her face.

"Oh my God Brooke it looks so pretty!"

"Oh I'm glad you like it, but you should be in the bridal suite, where I left you" Brooke reminded her.

Haley rolled her eyes; "Stop being a crazy wedding planner and be my crazy best friend instead."

"… ok fine, yay! I'm glad you like it!" she said as she and Haley giggled in excitement causing Lucas to chuckle. "I promise to walk you through every little thing after the ceremony."

"Thank you. This is amazing." Haley said sincerely.

"Anything for my best friend." Brooke replied with a wink. "Now, I will be up with you ASAP to help you finish getting ready!" Brooke said as she pushed Haley back over to the stairs of the estate the wedding was at.

"Momma! Daddy! Watch!" they heard Sophie shout as they turned around and watched her chase Maya. It brought a warm smile to their faces.

"Sophie adores Maya" Brooke said as Lucas chuckled.

"Yeah, she definitely never smiles at us like that…"

Brooke pouted; "Maybe the second one will like us better" she suggested as Lucas snorted.

Lucas looked around and spotted Peyton and Jake in the corner laughing about something.

"Funny how things work out huh?" he commented as Brooke followed his eyeline to the couple.

"What do you mean?"

"After everything that happened at the gala, Peyton and Jake found their way back to one another and you and I were always meant to be."

"Yeah. It's a little crazy" Brooke said quietly, not looking all that happy.

Lucas frowned; "Wow, I didn't mean to upset you—"

"No, no, you didn't." Brooke insisted as she held his hand. "I forgave you a long time ago for what happened but if I'm being entirely honest, when we got back together, I struggled to understand what all the heart break was for." She said with a shrug.

"Sometimes I think about that too and I know you may not want to hear this, but I think I was meant to have what I had with Peyton, even if it meant a lot of turmoil and pain… and what I am even more sure about now is that that road led me back to you and you and I? This is forever. We're going to have lots of little curly haired, blue eyed, genius children and we're going to grow old and grey together on a yacht that we're going to sail round the Mediterranean." He said as he pulled her into his chest and hugged her tightly.

Brooke sniggered; "You're a _dork." _

"A dork who is seriously in love with you"

Brooke lifted her head and looked up at him; "I love you too Scott."

* * *

Brooke was furious. The whole wedding had been a total disaster. The heavens had opened, and the rain began pouring – even after the forecast said it would be the perfect day! The whole place was ruined. Haley also slipped in the mud and ruined her dress. Haley and Nathan determined that maybe now wasn't the time to have Brooke's dream wedding and they all got back in their cars and headed to Brooke and Lucas' for a post-non-wedding party. They would get married in their own time apparently – maybe even a courthouse wedding too. It seemed to be the done thing among Raleigh surgeons.

"This is crazy!" Peyton said with a laugh as she and Lucas ran through the storm and sought shelter under a canopy while they waited for Jake and Brooke to get to them.

Lucas chuckled, "Just a little… seems appropriate though."

"What do you mean?"

"Love is a little crazy. It makes you do crazy things. It seems fitting that weddings are out of the ordinary" he explained.

Peyton smiled, "That's true…" they stood in silence for a few moments before Peyton spoke up again. "You know… I know I never really said it or showed it to you but… I am so happy that you have found something _epic_ and _amazing_ and _passionate_ with Brooke. I see the way you look at her every day and I just know she is your forever… just like Jake is mine." Peyton told him.

"She is my forever and always" Lucas confirmed, he couldn't help the smile that rose to his face when he thought of her. "Thank you." He told her as he held her hand in his. "And I'm so happy you've found your happiness too Peyton. You deserve it." He was incredibly grateful that they could have a moment like this before Peyton left. Everything felt like it was exactly meant to be.

* * *

As Lucas and Nathan ordered some food for all the people that were now gathered in Brooke and Lucas' house, Brooke and Haley were upstairs getting themselves dried off. Brooke had tried to save the wedding somehow but she was fighting a losing battle to the rain.

"I'm sorry today didn't go as planned." Brooke said as Haley ringed out her dress.

"Don't be silly, we'll find our time." Haley assured her with a little laugh.

"I have no doubt that you will. So… Mass Gen?" Brooke asked. Selfishly, she didn't want Haley to leave. She would miss her friend more than anything, but as her friend, she also wanted her to go and pursue her dreams.

"Yeah… will you be joining me?" she asked hopefully, but already knowing her answer.

"I've decided to stay in Raleigh. I don't think I'm quite finished here yet."

Haley nodded; "I understand that… Kate offered me an attending job."

"Seriously?"

"Yep… she really wants us to stay… I think she wants us to stay for you. She knows how much you'd miss me and Nathan"

Brooke chucked, "No, she offered you that job for you because you are a Rockstar." Brooke insisted, though she had a funny feeling that Kate was also looking out for her a little too.

"Do you think I should take it?" Haley asked meekly.

"I think you should do whatever makes you happy."

"I would miss you a lot if we went to Boston…" Haley said with a frown.

Brooke held onto Haley's hand; "You may be leaving Raleigh , but you would _never_ be leaving me. We been through this crazy surgeon life together and we're going to be there for each other every step of the way. Nothing is going to change that."

Haley smiled as she wiped away a stray tear; "I love you very much Brooke Davis."

"I love you right back Haley James" Brooke said as they hugged each other tightly.

* * *

A short while later, Brooke was struck with an idea. After a brief discussion with Clay, Rachel and Lucas, who all agreed with their idea and went to make it happen, Brooke rushed around the house and bumped straight into Andy, who was looking at her with a smile.

"Dr. Hargrove… what's up?" she asked. He looked like he had something important to say.

"I uh… I wanted to apologise actually. I came here and I didn't really give you the chance you deserved on neuro which wasn't fair."

"No, no, you've given me plenty of chances." Brooke insisted. At the start, yeah, he'd ghosted her a little, but he'd been letting her back in recently.

"Well hearing that you'd applied for trauma attending positions made me realise that I need you in the neuro department. I need you as my fellow. You can help me with my research and when I'm drowning with research you can take over my surgeries. There's no one else I would trust to do so. You're incredibly talented Brooke and the best I have seen in a long time."

Brooke looked at her with wide eyes. She was not expecting this. She was about to tell Piper she could start as a trauma attending tomorrow, but now she was thrown a curve ball.

"I—I don't know what to say." Brooke confessed.

"You could say yes?" Andy said with a hopeful smile. "Unless of course your trauma attending position is signed and sealed—"

"No. My heart has always been in neuro… I'm in" she said as Andy held out his hand and she shook it.

"Welcome to the team Dr. Davis."

* * *

"Hey" Brooke greeted Nathan a few minutes later as he stood out on the porch of the house.

"Hey… I'm sorry this didn't go how you planned" he apologised.

Brooke laughed at the fact that he was apologising to her. "It's ok, I'm sorry _you_ didn't get the day I had planned… but I actually have a better idea if you're interested?"

"Oh yeah?" he queried.

"Yeah. Come with me" she said as she grabbed his arm and dragged him into Lucas and Brooke's drawing room. He paused when he saw everyone gathered and Lucas standing at the front, an aisle right up the middle of the room.

"I know it's not a fancy estate but uh – we just ordained Lucas online, it's a surprisingly quick process, and we have one beautiful bride upstairs who is so ready to marry you if you're ready" Brooke explained as Nathan looked at her in wonder.

"You are one of a kind Brooke Davis." Nathan said as Brooke smiled widely.

A short while later, Lucas married Haley and Nathan right there in their drawing room in front of all their friends and family. Despite all the mayhem of this Raleigh Med family, they also had the most beautiful and loving moments, that they would no doubt treasure for the rest of their lives.


	35. Double Trouble

***GASP* ANOTHER UPDATE?!**

**Turns out I had a lot more free time than usual this weekend... so I have another update for you! BETTER YET - I have another chapter for you tomorrow! **

**For now, Brooke gets some unexpected news and Lucas' existential crisis continues... enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Five—Double Trouble**

The morning after the wedding, Brooke walked downstairs in a daze. She had a pounding headache—and wasn't quite sure how that was possible considering she couldn't exactly drink right now. As she rubbed the sleep from her eyes she stopped when she surveyed the damage downstairs. The house was a complete mess following the wedding after party - and Clay was fast asleep on her couch.

"Wow. Mess. _Not_ a dream." She said as Lucas walked around the corner with Sophie in his arms, who was happily chatting away to him.

"Definitely not a dream, we hosted a wedding last night… morning mommy" he said with a smile as he gave her a kiss.

"Mm… good morning" Brooke replied as she also gave Sophie a kiss before sitting down on the stairs. "Why do I feel hungover even though I was so very, _very_ sober last night."

"Maybe you're feeling everyone else's hang overs because the rest of us got painfully drunk." Lucas said as he set Sophie down and she immediately started running around the living area. "Why do we do that?" Lucas questioned. "Numb life's most joyous and brilliant experiences with alcohol. Why do we do that?"

Brooke ran her hand through her hair; "That's too big a question before I've had my tea…" she grumbled as Lucas reached over to the coffee table and handed her a cup of hot tea. _"God_ I love you" she said as Lucas laughed.

"Anything for my girls." He said as he nodded towards her stomach.

Brooke raised an eyebrow; "You think it's a girl?"

"I _know_ it's a girl." He said confidently. He had a feeling that Sophie was a girl and he was right about that, so he was willing to take his bets this time.

"Hm… I guess we'll see." Brooke said with a shrug. In all honesty, she hadn't thought about what they were having. She just wanted a healthy anything.

"Why are we whispering by the way?" Lucas asked. Sophie was banging around the house but they were talking like they didn't want to be heard.

Brooke nodded towards the sofa; "Clay's asleep."

"He's not asleep" Lucas said as he kicked the sofa and Clay groaned. "He's just staring into space like an idiot."

"I have to call in sick…" Clay groaned.

"Nobody is calling in sick. It's a beautiful day, you're going to get dressed and we're all going to walk to work. Come on guys? Soph?" Lucas called as Sophie came running into the room. She held her arms out for her dad and he scooped her up and gave her a kiss. "There's my girl, let's get you dressed." He said as he manoeuvred past Brooke and went upstairs.

Brooke slowly stood up with a groan; "God, how can everywhere hurt? This baby must hate me." She grumbled. Maybe she should call in sick too.

"Brookie" Clay groaned from the sofa. "Just pull a sickie with me, come on, we did it in high school we can totally do it now!"

"You did it in high school, don't drag me into your shameful teenage years…" Brooke warned. "Besides, it's my first day as a neuro fellow."

"So Andy gave in then huh?"

"Yes he did and you need to be there to watch me conquer the neuro department!" Brooke exclaimed. "We can become a dynamic neuro duo… you know you want to."

"… fine. But I need hydrated first" he grumbled as he wandered into their kitchen to source out some water and wake himself up.

* * *

Somehow, Lucas managed to get Clay and Brooke out of the house with very little protest. All they needed was some water and maybe some vitamins too. As the recapped the night's events – well, Brooke recapped the night's events and Lucas and Clay nodded along pretending to remember all that Brooke was talking about.

"I can't believe Peyton's really gone…" Brooke commented. She and Jake had caught a flight this morning down to Brazil to start their around the world journey.

"Yeah, she's out there, living life to the full…" Lucas grumbled. He didn't know why, but he was still feeling a little weird about Peyton's choice. It wasn't about Peyton of course, but rather the decisions _he_ was making and whether he was living _his_ life to the full.

Suddenly, Clay froze behind them; _"Oh my god_. _I kissed Rachel last night._" He said as he slapped a hand to his forehead. The events of last night coming flooding back to him.

"What?!" Brooke said with a laugh.

"A lot of alcohol was consumed yesterday. _Too_ much alcohol. Oh god…" Clay grumbled as they stopped at the traffic lights.

"Oh come on Clay, you and Rachel have been dancing around each other for months now, just get to it already!" Brooke insisted as she slapped Clay's butt to try and gear him up a little. "Take the plunge, you won't regret it."

"I regret those _tequila shots_ from last night…" Clay grumbled as he took his sunglasses out of his bag and slipped them on. The lights went green for them to cross the road and they started to do so, but Clay suddenly grabbed their arms and pulled them back, causing both of them to fall to the ground and a car went speeding past them. Lucas tried to steady Sophie's pram from falling over as the little girl began panicking at the sudden jerk.

The car continued to speed through and ran straight into a group of cyclists, sending them flying across the road. As soon as they had grasped what had just happened, Brooke shot up and tried to calm Sophie down.

"It's ok baby, you're ok." She told her as she ran her hand over her hair and down past her cheek. "Clay, stay with Sophie, call 911!" Brooke shouted as she rushed towards the car that had stopped at the side of the street, and Lucas ran to the girl on the bike.

Clay lifted Sophie up to try and stop her tears while dialling 911 on his phone.

* * *

While Lucas tended to the cyclists who had been hit at the hospital, he suggested that Brooke go for a sonogram, just to make sure everything was ok. She was pulled to the ground after all. Brooke made sure that Sophie was calm in day care and then changed into her brand new navy blue attending scrubs. She was excited that this day was here, though she didn't exactly expect it to start this way. After she got dressed, she went on the hunt for Rachel, who was starting as as neo-natal fellow. It didn't take her long, as she found her leaving an exam room.

"Rachel" he called as she caught up with her.

"Brooke, look at us in our navy scrubs!" she said with a squeal. "Can you believe we actually made it to this stage?" she asked in disbelief as she hooked her arm through Brooke's.

Brooke giggled, "Not at all. You're in neonatal, I'm in neuro, Nathan is in cardio and Haley is in general after taking the job Kate offered her which I am _eternally_ grateful for. We actually made it and boy does it feel good."

"Damn right it does."

"Do you have time to give me quick ultrasound?" Brooke asked as Rachel stopped and looked at her.

Rachel frowned; "Yeah, is everything ok?"

"Yeah, I think so, we were almost hit by a car today—"

"Oh of course! Clay told me, I'm so sorry I should have remembered—"

"It's ok, I imagine you were pretty busy sticking your tongue down Clay's throat anyway..."

"Brooke Davis!" Rachel said as she slapped her arm.

_"Ow_! What was that for?!"

"For spreading lies and slander about me… it was one kiss last night and that was it." Rachel insisted.

Brooke quirked an eyebrow, "I highly doubt that and really wish you two would just get your shit together, but I'm willing to let it slide for now…"

"Come on, let's check that baby out…" Rachel said as they made their way up to obstetrics.

Rachel soon had everything set up and Brooke lifted her scrub top and Rachel put the gel on.

"Ok, let's see… there they are. Heart beat is strong, they're moving around…" Rachel said with a wide smile.

Brooke let out a breath; "Oh thank god." She didn't think that anything was wrong, but there was a little part of her that was completely panicked.

"Do you want to see?"

"No, no don't show me, I don't want to know the sex." Brooke told her.

Rachel nodded, but as soon as she looked back at the monitor, her face fell. "Hold on…"

Brooke's head shot up; "What? What is it? Is something wrong?"

"Um, no, not exactly… but I think you're going to want to see this" Rachel said with a little laugh.

"What is it?"

Rachel turned the monitor around and Brooke examined it for a few moments, before her eyes widened.

She pointed at the screen; "Is that—"

"Two babies. You're having twins." Rachel said, beaming at Brooke who was a little shocked.

"Twins. _Twins_." She repeated twice, as if she was trying to convince herself of the clear fact. "What—what does that mean?" she asked in a daze.

Rachel raised an eyebrow; "Well—there's two babies—" she said. It was pretty self-explanatory.

"Oh my god there's a penis!" Brooke exclaimed as she looked at the sonogram.

Rachel quickly turned the monitor around. She was right, there was a penis. She figured she may as well confirm what she already knew. "Uh… yeah. There's a penis. A boy and a girl."

Brooke's face softened. A boy and a girl. One of each. What a perfect scenario. Panic left her body as she was overcome with joy.

"Wow" Brooke said as Rachel turned the monitor again for her to see. "Hold on… you did an ultrasound on me 8 weeks ago, how did you not see this?!" Brooke exclaimed. "You're supposed to be a neonatal surgeon and you can't read a damn sonogram!"

"Ok Brookie calm down, sometimes one baby hides behind another but now they're bigger they've got nowhere else to hide. You don't need to take your nervousness out on me ok?" Rachel said sternly.

"We almost died today. Our family was almost reduced to _zero_ and now it's being increased to _five."_

"That is quite a day."

Brooke nodded; "Yeah. Quite a day indeed. What do I need to do now?" she asked as Rachel wiped the gel of her stomach and Brooke sat up.

"Naturally, 2 babies carry more of a risk than one so just don't go too hard, don't over exert yourself but also don't feel like you have to be wrapped in cotton wool. You're strong, you're healthy. I know Sophie's birth was pretty traumatic for you, but this doesn't have to be a similar experience. If you can go through that, you're a pro." Rachel said confidently.

Brooke sat up straighter with a proud smile. "A pro… yeah. I'm a pro."

Rachel chuckled; "I like that confidence. We'll set up another appointment in a couple of weeks to make sure everything is on track, but for now you're good to go. Go find your Luke and tell him some very exciting news."

* * *

That night, after a long surgery, Lucas stood outside his patient's ICU room watching as his intern checked her vitals. He'd been with her ever since he brought her into the hospital. He felt like he owed her something. It could have been him lying there with the horrible fracture and in need of skin grafts on his arms. But he had someone watching his back.

Nathan walked out of the ICU room and stood beside him.

"It could have me in that bed… and Brooke and Sophie." Lucas mumbled, as Nathan chose to remain silent. He didn't want to think that way.

Clay approached them; "Hey, how are they doing?"

"They're fine for now" Nathan said, having taken over the driver after it seemed she had problems with her heart that caused her to pass out at the wheel.

"Clay man. Thanks. You know… again." Lucas said again. If he wasn't careful he'd lose count over how many times he'd thanked Clay.

Clay shrugged it off; "It's been a crazy day… a couple of crazy days" he said as Nathan smirked. He'd heard all about the little kiss he'd shared with Rachel. He really couldn't keep his mouth shut sometimes.

"How's the headache Evans?" Nathan asked.

"Don't start with me Nate… it was a long and confusing night and I'm suffering the consequences of it now" Clay grumbled just as Brooke walked over to them and nudged Lucas in the side.

"Hey" she greeted as he turned around.

"Hey, navy scrubs, alright" he said with a smile as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed her head.

"Oh yeah, extra expandable waist too" she said as she pulled at the belt of her scrubs.

"Well you never looked better" he complimented as he kept his arm around her shoulder and they left the ICU.

"So I uh—I got that ultrasound." She told him.

"Everything ok?" he asked, looking down at her.

"Everything's fine… there—there was something though." She said as Lucas stopped and they turned to face each other.

"What? What is it? Is she ok?" he asked desperately.

"_She_ is great, but _she_ is also in there with a _he_." She said as her eyes brightened, seeing the light beam from Lucas's face.

"… Twins?" he asked.

Brooke nodded; "Twins. A boy and a girl." She confirmed as Lucas scooped her in his arms and hugged her tightly.

_"I love you, I love you, I love you_." He said happily as Brooke giggled. He soon let go of her and Brooke reached into her pocket and handed him the sonogram, which he looked at with pride. "Two babies… wow." He said in awe and wonder.

"You up for it?"

"As long as it's with you, I'm up for anything." He said as he rested his hand on her cheek. "I'm also up for anything considering we almost got hit by a freaking car this morning…" he grumbled.

"I know… crazy day huh?"

"Yeah…" he said quietly as he looked at his feet.

"Are you ok? You don't seem entirely ok—" she said as she rested her hand on his arm.

"All these near death experiences… I think it's making me have an existential crisis." Lucas said. "What are we doing here Brooke? Should we be out there doing more than we're doing now? Should we always be in the same place, should we change, should we adapt?"

"Lucas, it's ok to change. You should change, you're alive. It's ok to evolve, it's ok to search for more but that doesn't mean you should take for granted what you do have." She assured him.

"I know and I don't take what I have for granted, believe me, I just… I feel like I need a break from this place, you know?"

"I get it… and maybe one day you will." Brooke encouraged lightly. She didn't exactly know what getting away from this place would mean for Lucas, so she didn't exactly want to push him into taking off for a while, especially since she wasn't about to go anywhere with these two babies inside of her.

"Yeah, maybe…" he grumbled as he kissed her head and walked away, knowing this would plague him for the rest of the day.

* * *

That night, Rachel was tossing and turning in her bed. She couldn't get Clay out of her head and it was driving her insane. She was even having dreams about him. Really vivid dreams. Really explicit dreams. She kind of hated the guy. He was cocky and annoying but he had a smile that could melt a heart and she appreciated his suaveness. After giving up on sleep, she made her way downstairs for a late night snack and was surprised to see Brooke sitting at the kitchen counter, eating her way through a tub of ice cream.

"What are you doing here? When I gave you a key I didn't expect you to wander in in the middle of the night." Rachel asked.

Brooke shrugged; "I wanted some ice cream and you're the free alternative from going to the store" she said as she took another bite.

"I'm surprised Lucas isn't running at your beck and call…" Rachel mumbled. As she sat down opposite her. When Brooke was pregnant with Sophie, Lucas would have gotten her whatever she wanted, any time any place.

Brooke pouted; "I'm perfectly capable of getting myself some ice cream."

"Do you dream vividly?" Rachel asked. To Brooke it was a completely random question, but to Rachel it was an entirely necessary and justified one. "Like so vivid you can feel how the dream felt in your whole body…"

"So that's why you're awake… you've been having sex dreams about Clay" Brooke concluded.

Rachel's mouth fell open, "Well why are you awake?" she said, not wanting to confess the truth right now.

"Lucas's having an existential crisis which is making _me _nervous and therefore _very_ much awake…" she said. "Oh! And there's the fact that my body is now housing two humans instead of the originally assumed one." She said with a little laugh. Once she shook had worn off, it was replaced with complete joy, but now she was entering freak out mode. Two babies _and_ a toddler was a big deal—she didn't know how she was going to do it. She was incredibly thankful for Lucas though.

"Brooke, this is amazing news, don't forget that." Rachel warned.

"Yes, the miracle of life is _great_ and I'm happy but I'm also freaking out a little bit. One baby is fine, but _two babies_ and a _toddler_? It's _a lot_. Kind of like how your sex dreams about Clay are no doubt _a lot."_ Brooke commented as Rachel frowned; "Like more than I bargained for _a lot."_

* * *

Brooke didn't get much sleep that night. She'd made her way home to find Lucas still sleeping soundly. The man could really sleep through anything. It kind of irritated her, but she knew it was the hormones talking.

The following morning, she was determined to panic to anyone who would listen – it just so happened that Clay was the first person she ran into.

"_Two_ babies. That's _twice_ as many diapers, _twice_ as many feedings… _twice_ as many emotions no doubt." Brooke told Clay as they walked through the hallway.

"Twice as much love too" Clay said, trying to get her to recognise the good.

"I know you're on a bit of a high right now because you saved our lives but don't get soppy on me Clay." Brooke grumbled.

Clay chuckled; "You're nervous, it's natural."

"I know but saying it's normal doesn't make me feel any better. Three kids under 3 is a lot to deal with."

"Sophie is beyond her years, seriously. The kid is like _ten_." Clay reminded her. Sophie was incredibly intelligent for her age. She was very aware and almost two years old, she was basically talking in full sentences and could easily read the emotions of the people around her.

"I know right?!" Brooke said. She thought she and Lucas were the only ones who had noticed how bright she was. "Like mother like daughter I guess…" she said with a jokingly conceited shrug..

"Have you spoken to Lucas about all of this?"

Brooke sighed; "He's having a bit of a crisis right now, the last thing he needs to be reminded of is that twins is a huge and difficult deal."

"You'll take to it like ducks to water." He said optimistically.

"I appreciate your optimism Clay, but again, tone it down."

Clay stopped and turned her to look at him; "1 is hard, 2 is hard, 3 is hard. It's never going to be easy, but you and Lucas make quite the team. Don't doubt yourself." He encouraged.

They turned the corner into the ICU and Brooke spotted Lucas filling in some forms at the nurse's station. She took a breath and approached him, ready to share how she was feeling.

"Hey…" she said semi-awkwardly. She'd received a voice mail from him last night wondering about her sudden departure for ice-cream and she had never replied.

"Hey, you ok? Did you get your ice-cream?" he asked with a little laugh.

"Oh. Yeah, Rachel had a pint in her freezer."

"Making use of your resources, nice." He said as his mouth turned into an upside-down smile and he nodded his head approvingly. "Next time, you can let me go get you some though."

"You know I like a late-night drive" she reminded him.

"I know, and _you_ know I like to treat you."

"You can treat me by bringing me home a giant cheeseburger later" she said with a puppy dog pout.

Lucas chuckled; "Man, eating for three huh?"

Brooke gave him a tight-lipped smile. "Right, yeah. _Three_."

Lucas frowned picking up on her nervous tone; "Are you ok?"

Before Brooke could answer, Lucas' intern came over and held out a tablet for Lucas; "Dr. Scott? Jace's cultures are back."

"Can we talk about this later?" Lucas asked.

Brooke nodded; "Of course" she said, watching as he went into his patient's room.

* * *

Shortly after her conversation with Lucas, Andy paged Brooke about a surgery she wanted Brooke to take the lead on. She sat in one of the scan rooms looking through the patient's scans, when Rachel and Nathan walked into room.

"Hey, what do you have?" Nathan asked as he and Rachel sat down on the couch behind Brooke.

"Motorcycle crash with no helmet. Hargrove picked it up in the OR and he wants me to take the lead on the surgery. You?"

"I had a patient come in this morning with a bad heart – ironically, she started up an internet dating site." Nathan told them.

Brooke scoffed; "How ironic."

"Ugh, internet dating is so—" Rachel began.

"Deceitful" "Depressing" Nathan and Brooke said at the same time.

"Exactly…" Rachel grumbled.

"Well good thing you don't have to worry about internet dating when you have Evan pining after you like a lost puppy." Nathan teased.

"Don't push me Nate…" Rachel grumbled. She still wasn't in any mood to talk about that little predicament.

Brooke sat back in her chair and turned to look at them. "Did you guys know that parents of twins are more likely to get divorced than parents of single babies?"

Nathan sighed; "you're not going to get a divorce."

"You don't know that. Lucas's existential crisis could all get too much for him and then he'll factor in that he's going to have to look after two babies and… _boom_. Our marriage explodes and falls into millions of little pieces." Brooke dramatized.

"You need to stop trying to make your feelings into Lucas's feelings. You're an excellent mother, Lucas is an excellent father, give Sophie a year and she'll be able to look after them too, the child is a genius—"

"It does freak me out a little bit I'm not going to lie…" Brooke mumbled. Sophie was quite simply ahead of her time.

"You can do this Brooke, you're a pro." Rachel added. "Have a little faith in yourself."

* * *

"Hey, how's your patient?" Nathan asked Lucas when he ran into him in the hallway later that day.

"He's got an infection. I'm trying to monitor it but I'm not sure I can stop it… but I'm trying my best. Life's too short not to." He wised as Nathan quirked an eyebrow.

"Now I see what Brooke means about this existential crisis you're having… what's with the profound sentiments?"

"I almost died Nate. Peyton almost died. It really makes you think about stuff, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. It explains why Brooke's freaking out too." Nathan dropped. He knew he was being a little sly just dropping that into conversation, but Brooke was driving everyone nuts. She was panicking and she refused to talk to Lucas and while he was wholeheartedly against meddling, he determined that this was for the greater good.

"Well we got to try our best, right? Life's too short not too." Lucas said profoundly.

Lucas's head shot up; "What?" Brooke was freaking out? Why didn't he realise she was freaking out? Maybe because he'd been having his own freak out.

"Her life was almost taken from her and now she's not only responsible for keeping one new baby safe but two." Nathan explained.

"Brooke's freaking out?" Lucas questioned.

"Yeah… talk to her man" Nathan said, before walking away hoping that they would finally sort everything out.

* * *

Unfortunately, Lucas' best was no match for the infection his patient caught and he died later that afternoon. It was enough to push Lucas that little bit further over the edge. Brooke saw him very briefly after his patient died and realised that he needed some time to cool off.  
So while Lucas went for a walk around town, Brooke took Sophie home.

She lay on the sofa looking down at her stomach while Sophie played on the floor beside her. Ever since she found out there were two babies in there, she felt like she had grown twice as big in a matter of days.

Sophie stood up from the floor and walked over to Brooke, placing a hand on her stomach. "Mommy a baby in there" she said with a giggle.

"Yeah sweetie… there's actually two babies in there." Brooke replied, trying to sound as excited as she could.

"Wow… how do they fit?!" Sophie asked in amazement.

"At the expense of mommy's bikini bod" Brooke replied sarcastically. "But let me tell you this… it is entirely worth it" she said with a smile.

Sophie tilted her head in wonder; "How did they get in there?"

Brooke frowned; "you're two, you're not allowed to ask these questions yet." She really wished that Sophie would just stay her baby for now.

"I wanna know!" Sophie demanded.

"Wow, ok… you know what? You should ask daddy when he gets home." Brooke said with an assuring nod.

"Ro Ro is a baby doctor" Sophie stated with a positive nod. Sophie adored her auntie Rachel, they had the sweetest bond.

"Yeah she is baby"

Sophie giggled; "Daddy is a boobie doctor."

Brooke held back her laughter. "Who told you that?" she asked. It certainly wasn't her.

Sophie giggled further; "Unkie Matty"

Brooke sighed and smirked; "Of course he did… daddy is more than a boobie doctor baby. He deals with your skin and your nose and ears and throat."

"Cool!" Sophie exclaimed, just as Lucas walked through the door. "Daddy" Sophie called as she rushed towards him and Lucas scooped her up; "How the babies get in there?" she asked as she pointed to Brooke's stomach.

Lucas gulped and looked at Brooke who merely shrugged and smiled; "Uh—"

"Welcome home daddy!" Brooke said excitedly as she sat up.

"Ask me again in ten years…" Lucas said as he set Sophie down and she swiftly forgot her question and went back to her toys.

Lucas sat on the sofa beside Brooke and allowed her to put her legs over his.

"I feel like I've grown to the size of a whale since I found out there were two babies in there…" Brooke told him as she rested a hand on her stomach.

"Well you're the most beautiful whale I've ever seen" Lucas said as he look her free hand and kissed it.

Brooke rolled her eyes; "Suck up…"

Lucas frowned; "You're really taking this hard, huh?"

Brooke shrugged; "It just took me surprise that's all. Two babies is a huge responsibility. I'm just nervous. But… I also know they have the best daddy in the world so they're going to be more than fine."

"What about the best momma in the world?"

"Soph? Who's your favourite, me or daddy?" Brooke asked.

"Daddy" Sophie answered without a second thought as Brooke raised her eyebrows at him.

"That—that's just Sophie, she's—wow, she really didn't hold back." Lucas said as he scratched his head, unsure what to say.

"It's at times like this I wish kids had filters."

"That is not an indication that you're a bad mom. Watch this" he said a she lightly nipped Brooke's ankle.

"Ow! Luke!" she exclaimed.

"Daddy no hurt mommy!" Sophie exclaimed with a furrowed eyebrow.

"See?" Lucas said, knowing that Sophie would always jump to the defence of her mother.

"Ok point proven... I know we will be ok. We just have to take each day as it comes." Brooke said as she held onto his hand. "I'm sorry for running off for ice cream last night." Brooke said, knowing they hadn't addressed that yet.

"I don't understand" Lucas said in a bit of a daze.

Brooke frowned; "Well, I panicked—"

"No, that I understand. I get why you panicked. Twins is a huge deal. But we are going to be ok. I promise." Lucas reiterated.

"What don't you get?" Brooke asked.

"I don't get why my patient is dead and we're alive. All five of us. We were pulled out of the way of a moving car and he wasn't. Why?" he asked as he released his hand from Brooke's and rested it on top of her stomach.

"Lucas" Brooke began as she shifted forward a little and rested her hand behind Lucas's neck. "I think you have a little bit of PTSD—"

"Not about the van Brooke—"

"Not just the van. Your whole world changed and then someone important to you almost died. Your family empire crumbled, Lucas that's _a lot._ You've been through _a lot _over the past year._"_

"Maybe." Lucas mumbled before he looked up at her though. "I got married though. To my forever love… and we're bringing two more babies into this world. I mean if we're like making a list of big things…" he said with a smile

Brooke smiled back; "Yeah, those are pretty big things."

"I may have been through a lot but—I've also _gained_ a lot. I also have a lot of love in my life and I am sorry that you have been so freaked out and I'm sorry that I didn't notice but I—I love you. Very much. I love Sophie and this little boy and this little girl that we're having. I want to be the best husband and the best father than I can be." He told her quietly.

"You already are… and it's ok to have some things to figure out. I think I have some things to figure out too… but we got this Scott." She assured him.

"Yeah. We got this pretty girl."


	36. Something More

**Chapter Thirty-Six – Something More **

A week or so later, Brooke and Rachel were walking through the hallways of the hospital on their way to rounding in on their patients. Haley and Nathan had just left for their honeymoon, but in a surprising turn of events, they weren't the only ones who decided they needed to get away for a while.

"Oh" Rachel said as she stopped and looked down at the email she had just received on her phone.

Brooke turned to look at her, "What?"

"Lucas is gone?" she asked as she showed Brooke the email.

"Uh… yeah. Yeah. He's taking a little break, sorting his head out a little. He did almost die and all…" Brooke said as she shifted awkwardly. She was trying to put on a brave face about the whole thing, but in all honesty—she was angry. He'd promised they would always work through things together but apparently this was too much for him. Apparently this was something he didn't want Brooke's help with.

"Where did he go?"

"LA. My mom recommended this beautiful secluded retreat spot so, he's just taking some time."

"And he didn't take you with him?" Rachel questioned, wondering why Brooke was so calm about this. "If anybody deserves a vacation it's you momma pants."

"It's fine, really. Hey, I gotta go but uh—I'll catch you later, we can do lunch" Brooke suggested, mustering up as much of a smile as she could before walking away, leaving a worried Rachel behind her.

* * *

Brooke made her way round to the lab to help Clay with some research the department was working on. As soon as she walked into the room, Clay was on her about what to do next, and Brooke was in no mood to be bossed around.

"I need some images of—" Clay said.

Brooke cut him off; "I did that yesterday while you were off in the OR drilling burr holes and I was feeling neglected." she said as she sat on one of the stools.

"Well if you want a change of pace I've got an epidural abscess you can take off my plate."

Brooke sighed and crossed her arms; "Clay, not your surgery lap dog, you don't get to hand off the surgeries you don't want to do to me."

"Who shoved a stick up your ass this morning?" Clay grumbled. Yet another mistake.

"You really don't want to piss me off today." Brooke said through her teeth. "Maybe go back to thinking about why you can't get your head out of your ass and tell Rachel how you feel." She grumbled as she set something under a microscope.

"I really wish everyone would stop sticking themselves into my business." Clay said, taking his term to grumble. It appeared that Brooke's bad mood was contagious. "Why can't people just let things be? Why can't they just let life happen? Sometimes things work out for themselves, in ways you can't even imagine! Sometimes, surprises are good." He rambled.

"Yeah, well, sometimes surprises suck!" Brooke shouted before quickly leaving the room. So much for some peaceful lab work.

* * *

After skilfully avoiding people for the rest of the morning, Brooke jumped out of her skin when Rachel suddenly appeared behind her.

"God Rachel, is it really necessary to sneak up on me like that?" Brooke snapped as she marched into the attending's lounge. Rachel stood there for a minute, thinking about Brooke snapping at her. Clay had mentioned she was a little on edge earlier, but she didn't take it seriously until now. Why was she—oh. She knew exactly why.

Rachel followed Brooke into the lounge and saw her sitting on the sofa, twiddling her thumbs.

"There is something you want to get off your chest." Rachel announced.

"What?"

"You are mad about something and I was about to brush it off but—there is something on your mind. Something tells me that the chipper exterior you had on this morning about Lucas leaving was exactly that—an exterior. What's going on?" Rachel asked as she sat down beside her.

Brooke looked down at her lap. She hated feeling vulnerable. She hated showing it. But here she was.

"He just woke up this morning and said he needed to go. He said he needed to take a step back from his whole life and see the bigger picture. He has some big questions and he needs some big answers." Brooke said quietly.

Rachel nodded; "Lucas left." She stated. Of course Brooke would be upset about that, and now that she knew how it went down, she completely understood why.

"Yeah. He left. So I told him it was ok, and it is ok to want to take some time and I totally get it but—I'm not really fine and I don't really think it's ok. I'm struggling not to get angry that he is just ignoring what he has. He feels like he has to search for something more when everything I thought we needed was right here. Am I not good enough?" she asked as she finally looked at Rachel with tears in her eyes.

"Brooke—"

"I almost died too and all I feel is gratitude and then—and then I find out that we're having twins and I freak out and it's as if—it's as if he doesn't care. He talked and talked about what he was going through but he just doesn't care how I'm feeling. That he's left me alone to deal with this. He was the one who wanted to have more kids in the first place. When you marry someone, you can't be selfish. You're a partnership. Why won't he just let me in? Why did he take everything I said to him for granted? Why couldn't we do this together?"

"He clearly has a lot going on—" Rachel said as she rubbed a hand across her friend's back.

Brooke scoffed and covered her eyes; "God, my dad would be rolling in his grave if he saw me letting Lucas treat me like crap—_again_."

"You know what? Let Lucas deal with his crap. If anything, it's going to make him realise all that he has right here. I know you feel alone right now, but you are anything but. You have me and Nathan and Haley and Clay and Kate and we're right here to help you get through your worries and your anxieties and your questions. Take this time to focus on yourself. You two can hash it out in the old-fashioned Brooke and Lucas style when he gets back." Rachel said with a little snigger. There really was nothing like a Brooke and Lucas show down.

Brooke laughed; "God, we are so messed up."

"A very special kind of messed up that somehow works. He will come back to you. I promise." Rachel said as she hugged her friend tightly, wishing she could take her sadness away.

Later that night, Rachel heard a knock at the front door and went to investigate. When she opened it, she was surprised to see Brooke and Sophie on the other side.

"Room for two more?" Brooke asked. As soon as she got home, she couldn't stand being in that big old house by herself. She was now so used to a crazy house, and without Lucas it just felt so lonely. Right now, she needed family. She needed her best friend.

"Always." Rachel said as she stepped aside from the door and let Brooke in.

* * *

A few weeks later, Rachel made her way downstairs in the middle of the night, trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes. She was in desperate need of a drink and when she got to the kitchen she was surprised to see Brooke sitting at the table concentrating on something on her phone.

"What are you doing up?" Rachel asked.

"Couldn't sleep" Brooke grumbled as she didn't take her eyes off her phone. Lucas has been gone for 2 weeks now and it wasn't getting any easier for Brooke to sleep without him.

Suddenly, the front door opened and closed and Nathan rushed into the kitchen.

"OK, I'm here, what's the crisis?"

"You called Nate to come over here in the middle of the night?"

Brooke pouted, "He's wise, I need his help. Lucas sent me a picture… of the sky." She said as she threw her phone down on the table and Rachel and Nathan looked at it.

Rachel scrunched up her face, "The sky?"

"Does he not realise you see the sky… everyday?" Nathan asked.

"I'd like to think that he realises that Nate." Brooke grumbled as she put her head down on the table. Lucas's silence apart from the occasional landscape picture was driving her nuts—but she was too stubborn to do anything about it right now. "If he's leaving me to look at the sky for the rest of his life at least I had some warning…"

"Lucas is coming back" Nathan said as he sat down at the table.

"Damn sky…" Brooke grumbled. "I need a sedative."

"It's just the sky Brooke." Nathan encouraged. It probably didn't have any meaning at at all.

"If Haley sent you a photograph of the sky, what would you think?"

"I would think either a) he really likes how the sky looks today and wants to share it or b) your husband wants to talk to you, but he doesn't know what to say so he sent you a photo of the sky to try and spark conversation." He suggested.

"A sunset I would have understood, a sunset in LA is stunning, but a blue sky? Pointless! That's not a conversation starter!"

"So he's in LA? On what? A spiritual sabbatical?"

Brooke rolled her eyes, "More like a spiritual spring break... What do I do?"

Nathan sighed, "You wait. He'll get his head together soon. I promise."

* * *

The following morning, Brooke was walking through the ward when Bevin walked over. She'd been dealing with a difficult case today. A patient was going to die and her husband didn't want to tell their son, which Bevin was having a hard time coming to terms with. While she dealt with the father, she needed to find someone to keep the little boy company and the first person she came across was Brooke.

"Brooke, see that little boy there? His name is Finn. Could you take him to get something to eat or something?" Bevin begged.

"Is this your patient's son?" Brooke asked.

"Yeah, there's a very slim chance that she's going to make it and the dad doesn't want to tell him and he's freaking out so—" Maggie explained.

"It's ok, I got it" Brooke said as she walked over to the little boy and bent down to his height.

"Hey. Finn, right?" Brooke asked with a smile as he nodded. "I'm Dr. Davis. Dr. Prince asked me to come find you. Are you hungry?" she asked, but he shook his head.

"Well… you want to see something cool?" she asked, as his head lifted up.

Brooke brought him up to the helipad and sat him down on the helicopter, over looking the whole city. The view was beautiful from up here, and Brooke always appreciated any time she could come up here for a breather.

"Are we allowed up here?" Finn asked nervously.

"Not really. But that's what makes it fun, right?" Brooke said.

"I know she's not ok. I can tell. Why is my dad lying to me?" Finn asked after a moment of silence.

"I wouldn't say he's lying Finn, he's just trying to…" Brooke said, struggling to find the words. Maybe her own experience in this matter could help him. "You know, when I was a resident, my dad was coming home from a trip to Washington. As I was leaving the hospital that day, my brother ran over to me and told me that I needed to go with him because my dad was really sick. When we got there—he had already died of a brain bleed. Truth was, when my brother told me dad was sick—he already knew he was dead."

"Your brother lied to you?"

"Yeah. Believe me Finn, I was so mad at him. But then he said—I couldn't let you find out, without me and Matty being there to hug you. And then I understood." Brooke explained. "The truth can sometimes be difficult to face, even for adults. Your dad is trying to protect you and anything he is doing he is doing out of love. Trust him." Brooke encouraged as Finn almost reluctantly nodded his head.

* * *

Brooke conversation with Finn had completely deflated her. She was glad she could maybe provide some comfort to the little boy, but it didn't change the fact that his mother was probably going to die. On top of that, it really didn't make Brooke's mood any better by thinking about the day her dad died.

She quietly slipped home that night and went straight to bed, not wanting to talk to anybody for the rest of the night – or the rest of that weekend for that matter. But then she woke up that Sunday morning to an unexpected text. After almost two weeks gone and a bunch of pictures of the sky, Lucas was making his return to Raleigh… because he had a patient he needed to see to.

Brooke wanted to throw her phone at the wall. But instead, she spent the rest of the day stewing over his return and planning what she wanted to say to him. She knew she had to be honest, but she had a funny feeling her temper was going to get the better of her.

That Monday morning, Brooke stormed through the hospital hallways just waiting for him to pop up.

"Hey" Rachel greeted Brooke as she bumped into her. "I got your tea—you look stressed." She quickly observed as Brooke gratefully took the tea from her. Her herbal tea was the only thing calming her down right about now. "What's wrong?"

"Lucas's coming back today" Brooke told her as they started walking through the hallway.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Rachel asked, wondering why Brooke wasn't smiling at this news.

"He's only here for a patient, he'll probably take off again once he's done… and there are a _lot_ of things I want to say to that man and _none_ of them are _good_. So yes. I am stressed." Brooke said angrily.

"Ok. Firstly, you should just tell him these things. Get those feelings out in the open so you can fix the situation. Secondly… you should go see Maxine." Rachel said as Brooke stopped to look at her.

"Who is Maxine?" Brooke questioned as she stopped to look at Rachel.

"Nathan's patient, the one who created the online dating service."

"… I'm not looking to get into online dating." Brooke said, completely confused by Rachel's suggestion.

"I know that, but you should go see her for something else. She's a bit of a love guru apparently, always looking to dish out some advice and I hear it's pretty spot on." Rachel told her. Truth was, she'd gone to speak to Maxine about Clay on multiple occasions, but she wasn't about to admit that just yet. "I think she could help you get to the root of the problem and help you fix it."

"… that's absurd."

"Don't knock it till you try it."

Brooke opened her mouth to protest further, but was stopped when the lounge room door opened, and Lucas appeared in front of them.

"Hey…" he greeted sheepishly, as Brooke just stared at him

"Uh… welcome back, Lucas." Rachel said as Lucas gave her a small smile. "I'm going to—yeah, I'm going to work…" Rachel said awkwardly as she swiftly walked away from the couple.

Lucas looked at Brooke and smiled; "You look amazing. You've really popped…" he said motioning to her stomach. He'd been gone for a little over two weeks, a lot can change in a pregnancy in that time.

"Yeah, well, that's what happens when you're pregnant." Brooke said as she walked on and Lucas moved to keep up with her.

"I wasn't sure if you were reading any of my texts" Lucas said.

"Yeah, you met a boy with bone deformities around his neck and you flew him and his family here to operate. Did you get my reply?"

"You mean the letter K? _Yeah."_ Lucas said, a little unimpressed by her reply.

Brooke shrugged; "I thought you were a fan of brevity."

"Brooke, hold on." Lucas said as he pulled her arm and turned her around. "I know my trip was sudden. I know this was sudden. I just really miss you."

"There are a lot of things I want to say to you right now. Things that I have been running through my head for _weeks."_ Brooke said with a clenched jaw.

"Well then say them. Please, say them." Lucas said. He'd been preparing himself for the wrath of Brooke, but he wasn't sure there really was anything he could do.

Brooke grabbed his arm and pulled him into the nearby supply closet in case this got too heated for public consumption.

"I told you that it was fine for you to go. But it wasn't fine. Not even _remotely_ fine." Brooke said as she paced in front of him.

"Brooke—"

"Those texts that you've been sending me. Not once did you ask about me. Or Sophie. Or the babies. You just sent me the freakin sky. Did you conveniently forget about your kids Lucas?" Brooke asked.

"I—"

"Let me talk." Brooke said. It was a serious question, but in that moment, entirely rhetorical. "I have wondered for weeks why you couldn't look at me when you told me you were going."

Lucas gulped; "… if I took one look at you I wouldn't have gone."

"That should scream volumes Lucas!" Brooke exclaimed as she raised her voice. "You wouldn't have been able to go because you shouldn't have gone."

"I almost lost my life Brooke"

"So did I!" Brooke shouted as she left Lucas in silence. She took a breath before speaking again; "You talk and you _talk_ about wanting to do everything together and I think that you're hearing me and listening to what I need but then you disappear and I realise you weren't listening to me at all!"

"I did listen Brooke. And I am here. I am here right now. Listening to you shouldn't come at the cost of looking after myself."

"I understand that Lucas. Of course, I want you to look after yourself, but I want you to talk to me about going away, not just waking up one morning and walking out the door! You didn't even tell me you were going to LA, I knew that you were in LA because my _mom_ called me and told me about the places she'd recommended to you!"

"I'm sorry—"

"Look, you have surgery, I have patients, so—" she said before swiftly pushing past him and leaving the closet.

* * *

After putting her pride aside and listening to Rachel, Brooke slowly made her way round to Maxine's room to see what the expert had to say about her predicament. She sheepishly stood in the door frame, as Maxine smiled widely when she spotted her.

"I know you. You're Dr. Brooke Davis" Maxine said with a smile.

Brooke eyed her curiously, "Sounds like you've been spying on us all around here…" she joked.

"Just a little. Spending your days in a hospital bed can get a little boring" Maxine said with a little laugh. "I hope you don't mind me saying, but you are glowing Dr. Davis." It was true. Pregnancy really suited Brooke, even despite the stress she was feeling.

Brooke chuckled; "I certainly don't feel like I'm glowing."

"It wouldn't have anything to do with a certain Dr. Scott coming back into town would it?" Maxine asked with a smirk.

"Where did you hear that?"

"I've got eyes and ears everywhere…" Maxine revealed. It appeared that Brooke was right about the spying Maxine was doing. She guessed she wouldn't even have to explain the whole thing to her much.

"He's here to do a complex surgery and then he'll probably take off again." Brooke explained.

"So you're sad he's only in town for a short amount of time?"

Brooke shrugged; "I wouldn't say that…"

"Oh, so he's in the doghouse then." Maxine said, finally catching on to Brooke's mood.

"I got pretty angry with him this morning." Brooke said quietly. "It's just—it's the way he left. He just got up one morning and made this huge decision to leave without even talking to me about it. He barely communicated once he was gone, he didn't call to check on me or Sophie or the babies… who does that? I just feel like he's completely disregarded the point of marriage. We're a partnership, we take on each other's problems. I took on his but—he didn't seem to want to take on mine. I get having big questions. I want him to go and get his answers I just—I didn't want him to freeze me out in the process."

"What are your big questions?" Maxine asked.

"When is he coming back? Does he even want this family? Why does he keep texting me pictures of the sky?" Brooke said, still not over the tree thing.

"Not big questions about him. Big questions about _you."_

* * *

For the rest of the day, Brooke wandered aimlessly around the hospital, taking in what Maxine had said. Maybe she should have used this time to work on herself. To think about her own big questions and big thoughts rather than freaking out about Lucas's. She had big questions about her career, about her kids. What she did know, was that Lucas was somewhere in this hospital and it was killing her that her pride was getting in the way of just being with him and talking to him.

She walked into the gallery of Lucas's surgery and was surprised to see him sitting there, deep in thought.

Time to break the ice I guess.

"Isn't that your patient?" Brooke asked as Lucas turned his head, surprised to see her.

"Yeah, it's looking a lot more complicated than I'd anticipated." He told her. "I'm just trying to think up here. Look at it from above."

"My mom always did say everything was clearer on the mountaintop." Brooke mumbled.

"Hm?"

"When you can get some distance and separate yourself from your problems they all seem so solvable but then you get back into real life and nothing is black and white, everything's all _muddy_—" Brooke said, not talking so much about the surgery anymore, but about their own situation.

Lucas quickly turned to look at her as he had a light bulb moment; "Everything's clearer on the mountaintop."

Brooke eyed him curiously as he sprung from his seat and over to the intercom.

"Guys don't move, I'm coming down." He said as he quickly dashed out of the room. While Lucas worked to save this little boy and not make his situation worse, Brooke made her way back round to Maxine. She had her own revelation about the whole thing and needed to say it out loud.

* * *

"Hey." She greeted Maxine as she walked into her room. "I'm still mad at Lucas… Kind of…" she said. Right now, her anger had subsided, and she was just glad that he was here. "But you're right. I have some big questions and some big things that I need to figure out and I've just been avoiding them and that needs to stop. I need to step back and look at things because… everything is clearer from the mountaintop. So thank you." She said sincerely.

Maxine smiled at her; "Oh honey. You don't need to thank me. You got there all on your own."

* * *

That night, Brooke tucked Sophie into her bed at Rachel 's house and was about to turn off the light when she heard someone enter the room and a fair of arms wrap around her waist.

"Can I kiss you please? We did it. We saved his life and his quality of life." Lucas said happily as he rested his face against her head.

Brooke leaned back into his chest; "Congratulations"

"No, both of us, we. You reminded me to step back. You gave me clarity, you always give me clarity." He said as Brooke smiled softly and slipped out of his arms, motioning for him to come into the hallway so they didn't wake Sophie.

"Are you leaving tomorrow?" she asked quietly as she crossed her arms.

"No. No I'm done being gone." Lucas said as he took a step forward and rested his hands on her arms. "Everything you said to me earlier—you were right. I may have big questions but I'm not going to find them away from the people that I love most on this earth. Saving lives like this and being your husband and Sophie's father—it's what makes me feel a part of something that's larger than me. I had an amazing day today. The best day that I've had in a very long time and you are a huge part of that. Coming home and seeing my baby asleep in her bed and seeing you keeping my other two babies warm and seeing _you_ and just how radiant you are… this is exactly where I'm supposed to be. I'm sorry that it took this long for me to realise it. I apologise for the way that I left. Truly. It will never happen again." He said sincerely.

Brooke nodded softly before saying; "Come with me."

Brooke took Lucas down to the hall to Rachel's office and opened the door to reveal that Brooke had stuck countless scans on the wall, she had written all over them, she was connecting the dots on some neuro work and it was pretty spectacular.

"This… this is my mountain top. Well—one the peaks anyway. I'm starting to think I have many." Brooke said with a little laugh as she reached on to the desk and handed him a file.

"What is it?" Lucas asked as he took the file from her.

"It's the research that Clay, myself and Andy have been working on. This is my thing Lucas. This is what I want to be doing, this is what gives me a reason to keep going. I don't need to look for something else. I want to do something worthwhile, just like you are. Just like everyone in the hospital is. I want to be a part of something bigger too. Something bigger in my career and something bigger in making sure these babies are ok. And I want to do it with you by my side." Brooke said quietly as Lucas looked at her in wonder. She truly was the most amazing woman and he was so thankful in that moment.

"I'm right here."

"I know. But I swear to god Lucas if you ever pick up and walk out that door again—"

"_Never_ again."

"Well then, yes."

"Yes, what?"

"Yes. You can kiss me." Brooke said with a small smile that Lucas returned before wrapped his arms around her and kissing her with everything that was in him.


	37. Big Guns

**Yay! An update! Sorry it's been so long. Life has been crazy and I got really into writing some stuff for Chicago Fire when I found the time... but I finally found the time last night to update this story and I'll hopefully have a few more chapters for you over the next few days, so I hope you enjoy!**

**There's a lot of grief in the air in this chapter… sorry…**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Seven - Big Guns **

A week or so later, Brooke walked into the lab and saw Clay sitting by the table, staring into space. She hadn't heard from him or seen him all day and she knew he wasn't in surgery, so she was a little worried about him – and from his stance she figured she was right to be worried.

"Hey…" Brooke greeted cautiously, seeing that he didn't appear to be on top form. "Are you ok?"

Clay remained silent for a moment before speaking; "My dad's dying."

Brooke's face fell, and she gulped. She wasn't sure what the correct response was here. Bucky Evans had never been a father to Clay. He was raised by a rotation of nannies and Bucky would rather throw money at Clay and send him on his way than spend any time with him, but it was still incredibly sad. "Oh" she simply said and cursed herself afterwards for the weak reply. "Of what?" she asked.

"Cancer." He said bluntly as Brooke nodded her head.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Brooke asked, but Clay didn't say anything. Brooke knew not to push. He wasn't one to accept help from anybody readily and she knew if he did, it should be on his own terms.

Brooke simply decided to pull a chair over and sit opposite him—in silence if necessary—just to let her know that the offer still stood. They were only in silence for a few moments before Clay spoke.

"I haven't seen the man in over a year... I barely knew him growing up and now this has been thrown in my lap." Clay told her as Brooke looked at him sympathetically, not really knowing what to say. She could clearly see how uncomfortable this whole thing was for him. How was he supposed to respond? It was his father but at the same time – it wasn't. Now he felt like he would haunt him for the rest of his life if he didn't do anything about his death.

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know. I'm supposed to grieve." Clay pointed out, but she wasn't overcome with sadness right now. Was she supposed to feel guilty about that?

"I'm maybe not the best person to ask, I had a good dad who I do grieve for so…" Brooke said, wishing she could relate to Clay in some way, but it just wasn't the same.

Lucas walked into the lab with two coffee cups in hand and Brooke let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in.

"Hey, I got you some of your weird tea…" Lucas said as he handed her the cup from behind and kissed her cheek.

"Hey, you have a deadbeat dad, right?" Clay asked.

Lucas furrowed her eyebrow as he rested a hand on the table and the other on Brooke's shoulder. "That's a weird Segway… but essentially, yeah—"

"How would you feel if you found out he was dying?" Clay asked.

Lucas pondered this for a moment; "… what's he dying of?"

"No, no…" Brooke mumbled, trying to stop him before he said the entirely wrong thing.

Lucas realised he should just answer the question in front of him, rather than look for more facts. "Well, I would feel conflicted about it."

"Would you want to say goodbye?"

"I don't know"

"… that's not helpful."

Brooke leant forward in her chair; "Look, I know I don't know what it's like to have a deadbeat dad, but I do know what it's like to _lose_ my dad… and we had a really…_ good _goodbye, if there is such a thing." Brooke asked, almost as a question because she didn't know how to describe her final moments with Ted. They were quite simply full of love. "I wasn't left with any regrets and… I don't want you to be either." Brooke said. She wasn't about to tell Clay what to do, but she was prepared to give her food for thought.

* * *

A few hours later, Brooke was working away in the neuro lab when Lucas walked in with two paper bags. He set them on the desk with a smile as Brooke raised an eyebrow.

"What you got there?" she asked as she walked towards him.

"Well, I wanted to bring you lunch, but I couldn't decide and since you've been craving just about everything under the sun all at once, I brought you tacos, meatballs, a burger and of course your Caesar salad with extra chicken." Lucas told her and Brooke smiled widely. He really was catering to all her pregnancy needs. At 25 weeks, her cravings were only being ramped up and she guessed they wouldn't subdue any time soon.

"You didn't have to do this"

"Yeah, I think I did. I know I haven't been the best husband lately, so I just wanted to let you know that I'm here for you." He said as he rubbed her arm. Ever since his disappearing act, Lucas had been trying to make it up to Brooke in whatever way he could. He cooked all their meals, he did the laundry—he had even taken point on potty training Sophie.

"I appreciate that, but I cannot eat any of this right now…" she confessed as her face fell and she sat down on a stool.

"What's up? Are you feeling ok?" he asked frantically as he sat opposite her.

"I'm feeling a little sad." She confessed. "All the grief in the air, you know?" she said quietly. Between Bucky Evans and the two patients she lost in the ER this morning and having to tell their wailing families, she wasn't feeling so great.

Lucas nodded as he clicked on; "Your dad… I'm sorry."

"There must be something in the water because Harry _and_ Matty rang me this morning saying they were feeling a little sad about dad today too." Brooke said with a little laugh, finding it a little strange that her brothers were feeling the same way without knowing they all were.

"You want to talk about it?" he asked as he took her hand.

Brooke composed herself as she stood up; "I should really get back to work" she said as Lucas nodded solemnly and stood up too.

"Ok. If you need anything, I'm here" he said as he quickly kissed her.

"Thank you, I love you."

"I love you too. And about these tacos…" he said, lifting the container.

Brooke smirked; "They're all yours."

* * *

That evening after hearing nothing from Brooke all day, Lucas walked into the lab and found her exactly where he'd left her at lunch, but this time, she appeared to just be staring into space. When she finally realised he was there, she gave him a small but sad smile.

"Hi" she greeted quietly.

"I know you're busy. I just thought you'd like some company." He said as he sat down beside her at the desk. They sat in silence for a few moments while Brooke looked through her microscope, before she leaned back, deciding to take this opportunity to just talk to her husband.

"I really miss him Lucas. Every day." She said quietly.

"I know. Every morning you get up and you go into the bathroom and you just stop and look straight in the mirror for a few minutes. For so long I've tried to work out why but uh—you're thinking about your dad aren't you?" Lucas said. She had done this for as long as they had been together, the second time round that is, and it took him forever to work out why—until now.

Brooke smiled softly; "Yeah. I think as I've gotten older, I've started to look more like him. My eyes are his eyes, I have the same stupid smile lines. Every time I see my reflection I see him. So I just have to stop first thing in the morning and allow myself to think about him. To remember that although he's gone, I have so many memories full of love that I can carry with me for the rest of my life."

"He loved you very much." Lucas assured her.

Brooke nodded; "I know. Even in my terrible bratty years too, he was real _trooper_." Brooke joked as Lucas smiled. "I know it's sad, but I also think it's good to miss people. Means the love you have in your heart for them is real and true." She said. She missed a whole bunch of people, dead and alive, but over the day she'd realised that that wasn't a bad thing at all.

"That's very true. You're the strongest person I know. I'm very proud to love you." He said sincerely as she kissed him.

"I love you very much" Brooke said quietly, incredibly thankful that she had him in her life in such a momentous way.

"I love you too."

* * *

Clay had decided to go see his father after all and he passed away with Clay beside him. It appeared that he wanted to ask for his son's forgiveness and Clay was able to give it. He was glad he went. He finally got that closure. A few days later, in what Brooke assumed was a pure miracle from _God_, Sophie managed to stay asleep past 5am, so she and Lucas decided to enjoy this free time they had together. Lucas had quickly latched his lips onto Brooke's neck while Brooke hooked her knee around his waist, feeling the heat increase between them.

Before they could get much further however, Lucas's phone buzzed and they both groaned.

"It's probably the hospital" Brooke mumbled against Lucas's lips as he rolled over, so he was hovering on top of her, being careful not to squash her protruding bump.

"When is it ever _not_ the hospital?" he said as he reached over to his bedside cabinet and chucked his phone across the room, causing Brooke to giggle before he attacked her lips again.

Just as Lucas's hand moved to the rim of Brooke's underwear, Brooke's phone started to buzz. Lucas halted and groaned as he buried his face in Brooke's neck.

"Dear _God_…" he grumbled before Brooke chuckled and pushed him off her.

"I'm sorry, I have to get up… your mom is flying Hargrove and I out to Boston for a VIP patient." She reminded him as she stood up from the bed and lifted her phone.

"Mysterious" Lucas said as he sat against the backboard of the bed.

"I know" Brooke said as she turned to look at him and wiggled her eyebrows.

Lucas smiled; "Look at you being a neuro god. Your dad would be proud." He said sincerely as Brooke smiled softly.

"Yeah, he would be." She said before lifted her silk bed robe she had discard and slipped it on. Before she could tie it, she looked up and saw Lucas smirking at her.

Brooke tilted her head and put her hands on her hips as Lucas took her in. Her little bump was sitting peacefully between her bra and panties and she just looked radiant for it being first thing in the morning.

"What are you smirking at?" she asked as Lucas moved to sit on the edge of the bed.

"You and that cute little bump" he said as he placed his hands on it and kissed it causing Brooke to laugh. "I can't believe there are two babies in there." He said as he stared at it in awe.

"You better believe it Scott because two babies mean double the diapers and double the spit up." Brooke half joked. She did want to make sure that the reality truly hit home for Lucas.

"Oh nothing sounds more appealing to me right now that dirty diapers and spit up." He joked back as he stood up and kissed her before walking into the bathroom.

"Are you off today?" Brooke asked as she started making their bed.

"Oh yeah. Sophie and I have a daddy daughter date day all planned." Lucas said with a smile as he lent on the bathroom door frame.

"Oh, I'm jealous" Brooke moaned. It was rare that they had days like this—and now she was missing out on it. Though the appeal of this mysterious patient Karen had for them was very strong. Karen had given them very little information about it and they were incredibly intrigued.

"Well we may be able to round it off with a really great dinner waiting for mommy when she gets back." Lucas said, trying to soften the blow of the day they would have without her.

"That sounds amazing. I'll let you know when I'll be home, I don't know what the deal with this patient is." Brooke replied.

"Great. I'm going to hop in the shower." He said as he turned the water on.

Brooke smirked; "Want some company?" she asked as she dropped her robe.

Lucas gulped; "_Always_."

* * *

A short while later (though definitely later than intended) Brooke was sitting on the Scott jet waiting to head to Boston. As she set her bag down beside her, Andy joined her on the plane and smiled.

"Well, if it isn't my little neuro protégé." He said in classic Hargrove style.

Brooke rolled her eyes; "I'm not your protégé, just here for this VIP patient."

"And Karen brought the two smartest neuro gods she knows." Andy said proudly as he sat opposite her. "What do you think she's got for us? Spinal sarcoma?"

Brooke shook her head; "We could do that in our sleep. Corimanie technique."

Andy raised his eyebrows; "You know the Corimanie technique Dr. Davis? You impress me."

Brooke glared at him; "As a neuro fellow, that really should _not_ surprise you."

Andy shrugged; "Most neuro fellows I've come across aren't half as competent as you. It's that Davis blood. You know I met your dad on the conference circuit, he called me an asshole on multiple occasions. My arrogance didn't really suit him."

Brooke laughed; "That sounds like him."

Soon enough, they had taken off and arrived in Boston. As they walked through the hospital doors, they were impressed by the newly developed Roe Foundation Hospital that Karen had been working on. They looked around them in awe as Karen came charging over to them in a fury.

"What took you two so long?" she scolded as she motioned for them to follow her.

"Karen, this place is gorgeous—"

"Patient is a 52-year-old female—"

"She's been complaining of neck and back pain for the best several weeks and yesterday the pain reached a fever pitch and the head of ortho insisted on a CT." Karen explained further.

"It would be nice to have a cervical MRI so we know what we're dealing with." Brooke requested.

"Already done" Karen said as she led them into one of the scan rooms.

Brooke and Andy were immediately mesmerised by the large tumour that covered the boards in the scan room as soon as Karen hit the on button. They cautiously walked forward and took it in.

"Oh, will you marry me…" Andy said to the tumour on the wall. It was spectacular. It was every surgeon's dream.

"I have never seen a tumour invade both a vascular and the nerve domains like that before." Brooke commented, almost in disbelief.

Karen gulped; "Me either."

"I always thought a wily brunette would take me off the market but spinal tumour—"

"_Andy_."

"I'm just saying, this tumour isn't going anywhere any time soon, you know I love my women stubborn." He added, not backing down from his inappropriate comments.

Brooke turned to Karen; "we're going to need to do a biopsy to determine if it's cancer or not—"

"Wow" Andy interrupted; "love the enthusiasm, but I prefer to meet the patient first."

"You already have." Karen announced as they both raised an eyebrow in her direction; "I'm the patient."

Andy and Brooke shared a brief glance, not quite believing what they were hearing. Karen had one of the most complex tumours they had ever seen growing in her spine and it didn't even occur to them that it could be her.

"We – we don't know if it's cancer or not." Andy mumbled out after a few moments of silence. He wanted to make that clear from the outset. He wanted to keep Karen as calm as possible.

"Are you having any numbness, loss of motor function?" Brooke questioned, not quite sure how to react to this. When she didn't know how to react, she tried to stick to the facts rather than let her emotions dictate what came out of her mouth.

"No, just the pain, which is why I need a biopsy right away. I have things to do." Karen said with certainty.

"I think spinal tumour is a pretty good reason to postpone literally anything else in your life—" Andy began.

"I am not postponing a _damn thing." _Karen made clear. She was due to officially open the new wings of this hospital today and she was determined to do it no matter what.

"I'm assuming by the fact that Keith, Lily and Lucas aren't here, they don't know what's going on. They should be here." Brooke protesting, not enjoying the fact that she was privy to information about her husband's mother that he was not.

"They will know when there is something to know. Now, I've reserved the IRS suite, we can take a biopsy right now." Karen said as she powerfully strode out of the room, determined to not let this get her down.

* * *

A short while later, Brooke and Andy were preparing Karen for the biopsy. Andy let Brooke perform the biopsy, but he would be lying if he said he was ok about relinquishing a bit of control.

As Brooke set up the equipment, Andy stood impatiently beside her.

"So, do you think it's cancer?" he asked her.

"Dr. Hargrove that is why we are doing the biopsy. You didn't strike me as a dumb question kind of person." She teased.

"I'm asking if you have a_ feeling_" he said with a sigh.

"Is this a new teaching technique of yours?" she asked as she began the procedure.

"I'm just passing on some wisdom." He said as he hoovered behind her.

"I get it, you're a big gun, there's no one in the world like you." Brooke rhymed off. A surgeon's ego was no joke—especially a neurosurgeon's.

Andy smirked; "Oh, thank you."

Brooke rolled her eyes and continued to concentrate on what she was doing—though it was difficult with Andy breathing down her neck.

"You want to be careful—"

"Hargrove, you're not going to back seat drive a simple biopsy, are you?" Brooke questioned before staring right at him. She'd done these countless of times, she didn't need to watched over like a hawk.

Hargrove took a step back and raised his hands, realising that it was probably best to not poke Brooke Davis. "… nope. You're good."

"Thank you."

* * *

The biopsy went smoothly and while Karen took a moment to come around from the anaesthesia, Brooke begged her to let her phone Keith, Lily and Lucas. They should know what was going on, they should be here with her. Karen, however, didn't want to tell them just yet. She wanted a drink instead.

They made their way round to the local bar and sat on three stools.

"Ok, run it down for me." Karen asked.

Andy cleared his throat; "The results aren't in yet, the tumour could still be benign, so let's not worry about that until—"

"Why do we do that?" Karen interrupted. "Why do we refuse to talk about it? If I have cancer?"

"Because we don't know if you do." Brooke said, backing up Andy's stance.

"I might and you tiptoeing around it doesn't make it any better. What are you having Andy?" Karen asked.

Andy looked at his watch; "The sun's still up." He said. Now wasn't really the time for drinking in his mind. It was 2pm.

"He'll have the same as me, tequila neat, make his a double. Brooke?" Karen asked.

"Club soda please." Brooke asked the bartender who nodded; "Not sure I want to explain to my twins one day that grandma gave them tequila while they were cooking…"

"Oh hush…" Karen playfully scolded. "So, do you think that if you talk about it, it'll scare me? You talking about it not what scares me." She said, not wanting to beat around the bush. "What I will lose is what scares me. I've built a legacy that has finally been removed from a man who almost destroyed something I had worked so hard to achieve. This whole thing finally has my name on it." She said, noting the fact that this hospital would be the Roe Foundation Hospital. Then there's my granddaughter, soon to be _two_ granddaughters and a grand_son_ that I want to watch tackle the _world_ and you don't think that I'm sitting here wondering if I'll get to? There is _nothing_ that you could possibly say that is worse than I have been imagining. Cancer doesn't scare me… my future scares me."

Andy looked at Brooke before she gave him a light nod to let him know that it was ok to talk about it.

"Well… if it is cancer, we are looking at osteosarcoma or a chondrosarcoma." He explained.

"Which means what?"

"If it's osteo assuming it has not spread, we are looking at chemo and radiation that should shrink the tumour and operate with as little chance of paralysis as possible." He informed her.

"And if it's chondrosarcoma?"

Brooke gulped before speaking up; "Chondrosarcoma is brutal. It doesn't respond to chemo, there is a very slim chance we may be able to cut it out without paralysing you."

"Which means I will never operate again." Karen concluded.

"That tequila went right through me…" Andy said quickly as he got up to use the bathroom, wanting to remove himself from this conversation right now. He quickly excused himself as Karen took a large sip of her tequila.

"Brooke, you are among one of the finest surgeons that I have seen in my career at your stage and it is only upwards from here. But that's not the only reason I called you here. You are the light of my son's life. I know Lucas's has been through a lot recently with his grandfather among other things. I'm worried that he's barely holding on." Karen confessed. She worried about Lucas daily and the only thing that brought her comfort was knowing that he had Brooke.

Brooke, however, wasn't sure what Karen was implying, but she sincerely hoped that she wanted her to keep this a secret from Lucas. The way she was talking, it was like she didn't want to burden Lucas with anything else.

"Karen, you can't do this alone and I'm not going to lie to my husband either." Brooke made clear.

"I know… and I don't want you to. I just need you to be his rock. Like you always have been. I need you to know what's coming so you can be one step ahead of any thoughts they may have. Can you do that?" she asked quietly as Brooke swore she saw tears glisten in her eyes. She had never seen Karen so emotional.

Brooke rested her hand on Karen's before nodding. "Of course I can."

* * *

A short while later, Brooke and Andy watched from afar as Karen cut the ribbon outside the doors of her brand new hospital.

"Damn" Andy said as Brooke sighed.

"Right?" she said in what she thought was agreement, but he had completely different thoughts in his head.

"No, I mean she looks good. She always looked fantastic—"

"Ok, what is it with you two?" Brooke said as she crossed her arms and turned to face him. "Because you do realise that that is my husband's _mother _who is very happily married, so if there's something going on—"

"I'm not one to kiss and tell."

Brooke glowered; "That is literally all you _ever_ do." One of Andy's favourite topics was talking about who he'd dated that week.

"Oh, you want details?"

"No, I don't—"

"She woke me up. I was married. Years ago… and then I wasn't. She died and I sleep walked through years of my life and Karen reminded me that I was alive. She sings a mean harmony too. She's my _friend."_

For the first time, Brooke finally understood Andy Hargrove. The show that he put on, the arrogance, the womanising ways—it was exactly that (most of the time anyway) and any friend of Karen Scott's was a friend of hers.

"And she's in good hands." Brooke said sincerely, seeing how cut up about this whole thing he was.

"I'm a big gun Brooke."

Brooke rolled her eyes; "Yeah, I know—"

"There is no one smarter, no one better than me and my friend… she has cancer in her spine that won't shrink with chemo and I have no idea how to remove it without killing or paralysing her." Andy replied. They'd received Karen's results less than an hour ago and it was what they had feared. It was the worst kind of tumour and they all knew Karen was in for the fight of her life.

"You're right. We have no idea how we're going to do this" Brooke said as she looked back at Karen who was smiling all around her. You would never think that she'd just received some pretty devastating news. "But we will. We will take this on head first and we will beat this… but it's what we do." Brooke said confidently as Andy nodded, ready to take this thing on with everything he had.

* * *

**Karen! **

**Andy and Brooke have got this... right?**


	38. The Brewing Storm

**Chapter Thirty-Eight – The Brewing Storm**

After successfully managing to convince Karen to go home and rest, Brooke made her way back to Raleigh, desperate to see and speak with Lucas. She had called him before she got on the plane and he picked up in the tone of her voice that there was something wrong, but she knew this was a conversation better had in person.

As soon as she landed in Raleigh, Brooke went straight to the hospital. She had planned on going home for a short while to freshen up, but she had heard there was a huge storm coming in and figured the hospital would need all available personnel.

She walked through the front door of the hospital just as Lucas walked past after leaving Sophie in day care.

"Hey, you're back." he greeted with a happy smile before quickly kissing her.

"Yeah, I'm sorry I was there longer than I'd planned, I haven't even had the chance to change yet." She said, looking down at her clothes from yesterday. She had hoped to be back for a later dinner yesterday, but she wanted to make sure that Karen was doing ok before she left.

"That's ok" Lucas insisted as they walked through the corridors.

"How's Sophie?" Brooke asked, still jealous that she missed out on their day together.

"She's good, missing you of course." He insisted as he rested his arm around her shoulder.

"Oh I'm sure…" Brooke said sarcastically, not buying for a second that the independent and fiery Sophie Scott missed her mother for one second. "It's crazy out there…" Brooke said as she looked out the window at the storm.

"Yeah, they said it's only going to get worse throughout the day." Lucas remarked as Brooke silently nodded then looked at her feet. "Are you ok? You sounded a little sad on the phone earlier." Lucas recalled.

"I'm fine, but uh—we need to talk later." Brooke told him as Lucas stopped and Brooke turned to look at him.

"Is everything ok?" Lucas asked, growing concerned. Were the babies ok? Was Brooke ok?

Before Brooke could answer, Piper rushed past; "Scott, Daivs, we need you in the ER, let's go!" she said as they both nodded and rushed away, their conversation having to wait.

* * *

Death appeared to be rife in the air for Brooke over the past week. She'd just lost a patient that had been hit in the head by some flying rubble. She stood in the scrub room following her surgery just staring into space thinking about Karen. How could she possibly tell Lucas that his mother had an incredibly aggressive form of cancer? It seemed unfathomable that she was in this position.

The door opened and Brooke didn't even flinch or advert her gaze as Kate walked in.

"Brooke? Brooke!" Kate said, snapping Brooke out of her trance.

"Hey, hi." She said quickly as she finished rinsing her hands and dried them.

"Are you ok?" she asked, seeing that something was clearly bothering her.

"You know the way we're a little loose on our morals regarding HIPA in this family?" Brooke asked, knowing that the gossip about patients spread through their family like wildfire.

"… Yes." Kate reluctantly confessed.

"I have to tell Lucas something and I don't know how to tell him, and I would really like you to tell me what to say." Brooke told her honestly. In that moment, she felt like a little girl running to her mommy for the answers, but she quite simply didn't know what to do. Karen was expecting her to be a rock, but she couldn't find it in herself to deal Lucas with yet another devastating blow.

"Are you sick?" Kate asked, panicked by Brooke's cryptic words.

"No, no, I'm fine—"

"The babies?"

"They're fine too, that's not breaking HIPA if it's my illness." Brooke reminded her.

"… then who's sick?"

Brooke took a breath before confessing; "… Karen. She has a grade 3 chondrosarcoma on her spine. It's really bad Kate She was my VIP patient in Boston and I—I don't know how to tell Lucas. She wants me to be a rock for him, but I'm barely holding it together right now." She said as tears swelled in her eyes.

Kate ran a hand up and down Brooke's arm as she gave her a minute to take a breath before giving her the best advice she could for such a difficult situation; "You two have seen through a lot of pain together. He was there when Derek died, you were there through everything with his grandfather and his father… you need to be there again for him now. He needs you more than ever. As for telling him – there's no perfect way to do it. You just have to tell him and then go from there."

* * *

Later that evening, Brooke stood in one of the exam rooms. She was supposedly look at some scans, but she was taking nothing in. Her mind was consumed with the conversation she had to have with Lucas. Unfortunately, it came sooner than expected, when Lucas walked into the room.

"Hi" he greeted as Brooke turned around and gave him a tight-lipped smile.

"Hey" she replied as he eloped her in a hug and held her tightly.

"What—what is this for?" Brooke asked with a little laugh—not that she wasn't glad he was hugging her in this way.

He moved back to look at her but kept his hands on her arms. "Because I give you so many reasons to walk away from me, but you always come back." He said. Truth was, he was treating a patient who had a huge slash on his face and neck from some metal—and he was constantly fighting and bickering with his wife.

However, as he stood with the wife outside the man's ICU room and told her that there was no permanent damage despite the deep nature of the cut and he would miraculously be ok, he was astounded by the deep love he saw in her eyes.

Then, her words struck him to his core; "_I know it sounds like we can't stand each other… and a lot of the time we can't." _she began with a little laugh. "_But I have loved him every single day of the 48 years we've been together. 48 years of marriage… it's not often that you get to love somebody for that long. We give each other plenty of reasons to walk away and not come back… but Gerald always comes back. He always comes back."_

Lucas had immediately thought of his wife in those moments. They always found something to bicker about, but their love for each other was much more immense than that and no matter what—they could never walk away. They always came back to each other.

Brooke laughed lightly; "You're not planning on doing another disappearing act are you?" she joked, not expecting him to be all soppy without an ulterior motive.

"Not when I look at you."

They fell into a moment of silence as Lucas noticed Brooke's face fall yet again as she looked to her feet.

"You've still got that look on your face." He told her.

Brooke frowned; "Look?"

"yeah just… distant. Sad. What happened in Boston?" Lucas asked, wondering what could have triggered her shift in mood.

Brooke held onto Lucas's hand and tried to find the courage to tell him. "Lucas, I—I don't know how to say this—"

"Say what?" he said, gradually becoming more and more concerned.

She rested her hands on either sides of his cheeks and put her forehead against his.

"Brooke—"

"I'm so sorry, I—it's your mom. She was my VIP patient in Boston."

* * *

After pacing the room for a few minutes, Lucas stopped so he could fully digest what Brooke had just told him. His mom had cancer. Really bad cancer. He didn't know what to do, he didn't know what to feel—he felt powerless.

"So her spine?" Lucas asked, looking for Brooke to repeat what she had told him. She nodded, wanting to give him the silence to digest this news as best he could.

"Why—why did she tell you and not me?"

"She didn't want anybody to know but she wanted me to know so I could be there for you and I—I couldn't know this without telling you. No matter if Karen wanted me to wait."

Lucas looked at her with tears glistening in his eyes; "What do I do?" he said as his voice cracked. "I feel so—"

"I know, I know." Brooke said as she walked forward and held the side of his face and rested her forehead against his. She knew exactly how he felt. Being a doctor and not being able to save the people you love is the worst feeling in the world.

"I have never felt like less of a doctor in my life."

Brooke lifted her head and took a breath to stop herself from crying; "We will get you both through this. I don't know what the ending is going to be. But you will get through this. I promise."

All Brooke wanted was to make him feel safe. He made her feel safe everyday and it was time to return the favour. She wanted him to feel the same comfort she got from him when Ted died. She wasn't sure she would have survived Ted's death without Lucas.

It was as if Lucas could read Brooke's mind as he took one look at her and said, "How is it that in the darkest moments, you always make me feel so safe?"

Brooke smiled softly, "Because I know how it feels in return and I would do anything to give that back to you."

Lucas engulfed her in a hug, desperate for a moment of security and knowing he could find it in her.

* * *

A few days later, Brooke stood at the OR board and wiped her name off for her scheduled surgeries. Andy had called Brooke that morning and told her they needed to start planning for Karen's surgeries, so she cancelled anything she had that day to accommodate it. She knew this was going to be one of the biggest challenges she faced in her career, but she was ready to fight for Karen full guns blazing.

Kate came rushing around the corner and frowned when she saw them at the board.

"No, you're on the board?" she asked.

"I'm rubbing my name off the board, Hargrove wants to talk strategy for Karen's surgery." Brooke explained.

Kate groaned; "But I need you, I have a dozen little kids coming to my house in a few hours, I don't know anything about superheroes."

It was Maya's 3rd birthday party today and naturally she had requested a superheroes theme which Kate was more than happy to oblige with—granted that her step children could help her out.

"Relax, Matty's coming from New York—" Brooke reminded her.

"No, he's not, he just called me, he has the flu!" Kate exclaimed.

"Just tell Maya Brookie is being a superhero by saving lives at the hospital." Brooke encouraged. "And I'll be there later!" she promised as Kate started to storm away.

"Later is no good to me Brooke!" she called back.

Just as Brooke was setting the board pen back on the ledge, Karen came out of the side office and walked straight past her.

"Karen, hi." Brooke said, confused as to why she was ignoring her. "I didn't realise you were back, how are you feeling?"

"I don't know, why don't you tell me? Since you seem to be so good at telling everybody everything." Karen snapped. She was clearly mad that Brooke had told Lucas who had in return told Lily and Keith who then got mad at Karen for not telling them, but what did she expect? She seemed to be ok with her doing it when they spoke in Boston, but now she was the bad guy, and she was ready to stand up for herself.

"That's not fair, I told you that I wasn't going to keep this from Lucas." She reasoned.

"Save it. The only reason I am keeping you on this team is because of Lucas, but I suggest you stay out of my way in the meantime." She said before swiftly making her exit.

Brooke clenched her fists and her jaw together just as Lucas came around the corner. He chuckled and looked at his watch.

"This must be a new record for you. It normally takes someone till around 3pm to put you in a mood but damn, it's only 11.30." he teased.

"Yeah, well, your mother isn't happy that I told you about her cancer." She explained as they began to walk on.

"Well she shouldn't have told you if she didn't want you to tell me. If she wants you to be my rock, then you had to tell me." Lucas reasoned. It was pretty unreasonable for Karen to expect Brooke to keep something like this from Lucas.

"Yeah… how are you doing? Did you talk to your mom? I didn't even realise she was back." Brooke asked.

Lucas nodded; "yeah, we all had dinner last night while you were in surgery, though with Sophie there, not much was said because it probably would have resulted in a shouting match, and we all have a surgery today." He explained quietly.

Brooke frowned; "Karen's doing a surgery?"

"Yes." The heard Karen say behind them as they turned around and saw her standing there with Keith. "A pelvic exenteration that's into the uterus to be exact."

"And our patient is ready for us." Keith added as Lucas gave Brooke a weak smile before walking away with Keith and Karen since he would be joining them in the OR.

Brooke sighed at the nurse handed her some charts; "This day…" she grumbled to herself, before making her way round to the lab.

* * *

After continually failing to find a solution to Karen's tumour, Brooke decided to take a breather before Andy pushed her over the edge with his nagging. Before she left, their conversation had gone along the lines of:

_"You could do with a little positivity by the sounds of those sighs Davis.""You really do not want to piss me off today Hargrove.""I feel like I don't want to piss you off any day preggo."_

After taking a breather, Brooke made her way to the gallery to see how Karen, Keith and Lucas's surgery was going. They were just getting ready to start when she arrived, and she found a seat beside Rachel.

"Quite the crowd." Brooke said as she looked around her at the packed gallery.

"It's quite the surgery." Bailey replied. What they were attempting to do was quite remarkable.

"It sounds complicated, I hope it goes well."

"If you thought you were performing your last surgery you would want to go out with a bang." Rachel justified.

Brooke frowned; "How do you know about that?"

"Lucas told Nathan and I this morning." she told her sadly.

Brooke sighed as she watched Karen shift uncomfortably where she stood; "She's symptomatic, she's in pain, this is not a simple surgery. Do you think this is a good idea?"

"I think she's Karen Roe and I think she knows what she can handle. She also has an amazing team by her side." Rachel said calmly as they watched Karen make the first incision.

* * *

A short while later, Brooke took yet another breather, this time from the surgery and made her way back to the lab to help Andy. She sheepishly walked in as he looked at her with an exacerbated sigh.

"Oh, so you decided to come back, huh?" he questioned.

Brooke folded her arms and glared; "What did I say about pissing me off?"

"Well you're starting to piss me off Davis. You're coming at this with a lacklustre attitude, Karen wanted you on this team because she thought you were up to the task—"

"No, Karen wanted me on this team, so I could inform Lucas about what was going on in the most effective way possible. She may have given you a whole spiel about me being a brilliant surgeon, but she doesn't think that, she just thinks of me as Lucas's little wife." Brooke snapped as Andy finally realised what her issue was. She was pissed that Karen didn't trust her when all she wanted to do was help.

"That is not true and if she has said that to you then she's just hurting, and she is afraid." Andy reasoned.

"Whatever I just—I am not _deliberately_ being lacklustre. I'm just being realistic. _Of course_ I want to do all that we can for her, she's my husband's mother, she's my children's grandmother, she's my _family_. But we have to be reasonable. We have to ask reasonable questions." Brooke justified as Andy nodded and Haley appeared at the door.

Brooke lifted a 3D replica of the tumour from the table; "this is what we are dealing with, we have to visualise this… oh my god." She said as she suddenly perked up. "Haley has been working on some sort of online technology that allowed you to dissect tumours on a board with pen… that's what we need!"

"You are the neuro protegee of my dreams." Hargrove said in awe. "Get Dr. James here, stat."

* * *

After leaving Andy to talk with Haley about their tumour, Brooke made her way round to the OR to see how things were going. Just as she walked into the gallery, she watched as Karen took her mask off and stormed out of the room – but not before she heard Lucas over the intercom question her ability to finish the surgery because she was clearly in pain.

As she left the room, Brooke watched the discomfort in her body and face and made her way round to the attending's lounge to talk to her. As she opened the door, Karen turned around and sighed when she saw her.

"Not now Brooke." She said as she rested her head in her hand.

"No, I need you to listen to me." Brooke said definingly. She wasn't going to let Karen push her around over this. She moved around the table so she could look Karen in the eye. "I am trying to help you Karen. I am trying to save your life. But you need to let me. I'm sorry that you're angry I told Lucas but I'm _not_ sorry that I did it. I may be your son's wife, but I am also a surgeon and a damn good one. So please don't treat me like anything less than that. _Let me help you._" She asked as Karen merely looked at her.

Before she could reply, Lucas and Keith walked into the room.

"Hey" Lucas said to his wife as she gave him a sad smile.

"Hi" she replied quietly.

"I completed the ostomies and Lucas closed with a lap. Marie's in recovery." Keith explained.

"How is she doing?" Karen asked as she brushed her hair.

"She's stable." Lucas said as he stood beside Brooke. "Look, mom, I know you're frustrated—"

"Frustrated? I'm livid! You questioned my ability to complete that surgery. You inferred that I am somehow incapable—"

"You have a massive tumour on your spine!" Lucas exclaimed; "And you didn't even tell me about it, you didn't tell me you had cancer!"

"I wasn't ready to bring anyone else into it." Karen told him as she stood up.

"Except you did, you told my wife!" Lucas reminded her.

"Lucas, she told me so that I could be there for you—" Brooke reminded him, but he was quick to cut her off.

"We should have found out _together_." He said through his teeth as Brooke took a step back, realising this wasn't her fight.

Karen laughed; "Just because the Davis' are big over sharers doesn't mean that we have to be!" She wasn't wrong, the Davis did have a reputation for over sharing, but this wasn't one of those moments.

Brooke glared deeply; "This isn't over sharing Karen, this is updating on the fundamental moments of your life!" she couldn't believe that Karen had taken that ridiculous stance.

"I was not wrong not to tell you two." Karen said, standing by her convictions.

"This is what you always do. You try to control everyone and everything you're around!" Lucas exclaimed. "and we can handle bad news. We're surgeons." Lucas said as he rested his hand on Karen's arm.

"And we're your family." Brooke added in. "Your husband and you children deserve the truth." She said, not wanting to forget about Lily in all of this who she had no doubt was freaking out right about now.

"We all know that if I had have told you any sooner you both would have driven me crazy. Ordering every test under the sun. I may have periods of irrationality, I may make bad decision… but I have cancer. I am living with this horrible disease and if that's not an excuse I don't know what is!" she exclaimed as she sat down on the sofa again.

Lucas and Keith quickly rushed to either side of her to comfort her as Brooke sat opposite them on the coffee table. Lucas looked up at Brooke with complete fear in his eyes as Brooke allowed a few stray tears to roll down her cheeks.

Karen Roe was in for the fight of her life and she could be damned sure that her family were going to be with her every step of the way.


	39. Walking on Water

**Chapter Thirty-Nine – Walking on Water **

A few weeks later, the day of Karen's surgery had arrived and to say that everyone was on edge would have been an understatement. Karen had checked in to the hospital the night before and was patiently waiting to tackle the day ahead. As Keith waited on her hand and foot, Brooke and Lucas arrived with Sophie and Karen's face immediately lit up.

"There's my girl!" she exclaimed as Lucas set her down and Sophie immediately ran to Karen. "Come to Grammy"

"Hi Grammy" Sophie said as she hugged her grandmother and rested her head on her shoulder.

"Hello, my baby" Karen said as she held her close. Sophie had a special bond with both her grandmothers. Victoria and Karen just doted upon her—and she certainly revelled in the attention. She was more than aware she wouldn't be top dog anymore when the twins arrived, so she was soaking it all up while she still could.

"Did you check the CT and angio?" Lucas asked Brooke, who was about to reply before Karen cut in.

"Yes, she did and please stop." Karen scolded as she looked at both Keith and Lucas. "I appreciate both of you wanting to be a part of this, but I have the best neuro team there is. I need you to be my husband and my son today." She asked as they both reluctantly nodded. Lily had arrived about an hour ago too and had just popped down to the canteen for something to eat.

"And we need you to be our patient." Brooke requested.

"Brooke you are cutting into my spine today, I will be whoever I want to be." She replied as Brooke smirked and Andy Hargrove opened the door, rolling in a monitor.

"Good morning" he greeted as he nodded Brooke over to the monitor, so they could explain what they were doing.

"Now, we will go in posteriorly with our stealth system and our newly pilthered orbital scope." Andy explained as the video appeared on the screen.

"The plan is to go in and remove it on block." Brooke added.

"And you really think posteriorly is the way to go?" Lucas questioned as he folded his arms.

Andy sighed; "Oh it is fun to have so many surgeons in one family, remind me Scott, when did you become double board certified in neuro?"

"Is that really how you talk to a patient's family?" Lucas challenged as Brooke closed her eyes, really not wanting this to happen on today of all days.

"It is actually—"

"Let's just get back to the much more important matter at hand." Brooke scolded as the video continued. "We need to go in posteriorly to avoid the carotid and the jugular and avoid having to weed through the brachial plexus—" she explained.

"Look, I know how hard it is to be on the bench, but we are the A Team and we don't lose." Andy boasted. That arrogance was exactly what they needed today.

"Any last questions?" Brooke asked.

"It looks like you've got this." Keith said with an assured nod.

"Brooke you listen to me now, you know I think you are brilliant and want you on this surgery, but those babies must come first." Karen insisted.

"It's ok Karen, I've got this, and we have Clay on standby, but I can assure you he won't be needed." Brooke replied. She knew her limits and she knew this surgery was within them.

"Ok. There's no one I would rather have." Karen assured her. She had such faith in Brooke's abilities and she certainly wasn't going to let Brooke think being pregnant could stop her. She just wanted to make sure she was comfortable. "I suppose little miss Sophie needs to get back to day care." Karen said as she ran a hand through her granddaughter's hair.

"Actually my brother Matty is here to look after her. I didn't want her to be in day care all day while we were in surgery." Brooke explained. Sophie hated it when her parents had to leave her in day care for too long, but she really loved her Uncle Matty and he was more than willing to take care of Sophie over the weekend while Brooke and Lucas remained at the hospital with Karen.

"That's good." Karen said as Lucas took Sophie from her. "I think I'd like to take a little walk before we get started." Karen said as she stood up and Keith helped her into her dressing gown.

"I'd be happy too—" Keith began, but Karen cut him off.

"No honey. I want to go alone." She said a she kissed Keith and walked towards the door and slowly left the room.

* * *

While Karen went for her walk, Brooke and Lucas took Sophie down to the lobby to meet Matty who was waiting to take her back to their house.

"Matty, Matty, Matty!" Sophie shouted as soon as she saw him, as she wiggled her way out of Lucas's arms and towards her uncle.

"Hey Soph!" Matty said as he lifted her up and gave her a kiss causing her to giggle hysterically.

At 19 years old, Matty had grown into a handsome, intelligent and witty young man. While he never lost his dry sense of humour and his brutal honesty, the compassion that beamed from his heart was contagious and he was a joy to be around. Ted's death had changed him and he has certainly come a long way from the little boy who was raised in two states and wasn't quite sure of his place in the world.

"Hey Matty" Brooke greeted as she moved to hug him, but Sophie quickly blocked her with her own hug. Brooke laughed; "Well, I guess someone's a little jealous at mommy hugging their Unkie Matty."

"Hey man" Lucas said as he managed to give Matty a discreet fist bump before Sophie noticed. "Thanks for doing this."

"It's really no bother. It's nice being back in Raleigh, it's been a while." Matty said. He tried to come to Raleigh whenever he could, but it was easier said than done. He had a busy life in New York and there was still something about Raleigh that set him on edge.

"Yeah, we miss you around here." Brooke said sincerely. Truthfully, she missed both her brothers being in Raleigh, especially considering she couldn't get to New York as often as she liked.

"How's Karen?" Matty asked as Lucas gulped.

"She's ok. Better than I expected her to be." He said as Matty nodded. "I should get back upstairs, or try to locate her. She's no doubt wandered into oblivion on this walk she decided to take." Lucas said with a little laugh. "Thanks again Matty, please help yourself to whatever's in the house, you know where everything is." Lucas insisted. "Bye Soph" he said as he gave his daughter a kiss.

"Bye daddy" Sophie said with a giggle as Lucas smiled softly and walked away. The fear in his heart that the next time he saw his daughter he might have to tell her that her grammy had gone to heaven was real, but he quickly shook those thoughts out of his head. He had great faith in Brooke and Andy.

"And how's he doing?" Matty asked, seeing that he was clearly anxious.

"As well as can be expected." Brooke said with a sigh. "Keith is pretty calm, but Lucas—it's like he doesn't really know how to feel and—I get it."

"Yeah, losing a parent really does a number on you." Matty empathised. "Are you sure you're ok to do this surgery? Karen is your family—"

"I know but she wants me to do it and I am not about to say no to Karen Roe. I know I can do it and _she_ knows I can do it. That's all I need to get through it."

"You're also 29 weeks pregnant—"

"And I feel on top of the world" Brooke said with a smug smirk.

Matty snorted; "Yeah, sure."

"As far as anyone knows I am on top of the world, once Karen gets through this surgery, then I can complain about the nausea and the back pain." Brooke joked.

"And knowing you, sitting anxiously waiting for something to go wrong."

"Yeah well, considering my track record with trauma, it's understandable that I'm expecting something to go wrong." Brooke said solemnly.

"You can't think like that Brooke; your babies will be ok." Matty insisted.

"Unless Sophie tries to sell them online…" she joked as Sophie merely smiled, realising that her mom was being funny, but not realising it was at her expense. Matty chuckled in a way that remined Brooke of Ted and she smiled.

"Well, Emmie and I should get going. We have a day of fun ahead." Matty said.

"Can we get ice cream Unkie Matty?" Sophie asked as she batted her eyelashes.

"Man, she knows exactly how to get what she wants huh?" Matty asked Brooke as she merely shrugged and nodded. "Ice cream it is." He said as Sophie cheered. "You're going to do great Brooke. You are a Davis after all." Matty reminded her as Brooke smiled and watched them leave the hospital.

* * *

While the interns prepped Karen for surgery, Lucas went for a walk and found himself sitting on a gurney in one of the hallways, just—_thinking_. Thinking about his mom and all that she was and all that she had done for him. The brilliant and majestic Karen Roe. It wasn't too long before Brooke walked over to him, her baby bump protruding clearly through her navy-blue scrubs.

"Hi" she said softly as she sat on the gurney beside her—not entirely gracefully though, it was a little bit difficult to manoeuvre these days.

"Hi" he said with a little chuckle as she fumbled to sit beside him.

"There is no way I'm going to be able to get down from here." She joked as Lucas held her hand between both of his.

"I got you, don't worry." He assured her with a little laugh.

"Are you ok?" Brooke asked, already knowing the answer to that, but she wanted to give him an open to talk freely.

"Just thinking about mom." He replied as he looked down at their hands. "She's always been larger than life, you know? She's always such a presence in a room, but not in a loud, obnoxious way. Just by her spirit… and believe it or not she loves to dance. A huge dancer, she was always the first one on the dance floor at my birthday parties."

Brooke laughed; "Sounds amazing."

"I was 16, it was _mortifying_." He said with a little chuckle. "She always did that, she always inserted herself into every single aspect of my life. Whether I wanted her to or not, hell even if I _knew_ about it or not. Now I—I can't even imagine what a room would feel like without her and her spirit in it. He told her as tears filled in his eyes. "I feel like a scared little kid."

Brooke nodded as she allowed some tears to fall down her cheek; "Like nothing is safe. Like the world is upside down and nothing makes any sense anymore." She replied. She knew exactly how he felt. She had never felt more lost than she did when Ted died.

"I don't like it" he said as he finally choked on his tears and sobbed. "I don't like it." He repeated as Brooke quickly wrapped him in her arms.

"I know. I know." She soothed. She held him for a few more minutes before he lifted his head and Brooke held it between her hands. "It's the worst feeling. No matter how old you are, or how in tune with life you feel. It is always going to be terrifying having a parent in a situation like this. Having to think about losing them. Hargrove and I have a plan. A really good plan and we are not going to walk out of that surgery without having done our very best." She assured him.

Lucas nodded; "I know. I trust you and I love you. _Always_."

* * *

After taking a few moments to catch their breaths, Lucas made his way round to Karen's room to escort her to the OR, while Brooke met with Andy to start scrubbing in.

"Tell me again" Andy said as they walked toward the benches to put their scrub boots on.

"We make an incision posteriorly from C3 to T4 then use the stealth probe to mark the co-ordinates of the tumour." Brooke recited.

"Once we access the tumour and remove it on block." Andy concluded.

"Perfect. Brilliant." Brooke said, knowing that the best way to get Andy ready for a surgery was to appeal to his arrogance.

"We are incredible."

"Yes, we are."

They sat in silence for a few moments before Brooke saw the uncomfortable look on Andy's face.

"Say it." She told him as he frowned.

"What? No, I'm good. _Really _good. I'm a big gun, ready to big gun the _crap _out of this tumour." He said as Brooke raised an eyebrow. She hadn't known Andy for very long, but it didn't take much for them to get in a rhythm with one another. They somehow worked seamlessly together, and they understood each other to a tee. "Dammit. Even my arrogance is off." Andy concluded.

"Right?" Brooke said, not wanting to be the one to say it.

"Why don't we just - word vomit what we're feeling. Go rogue. It could work… you first." Andy said quickly before Brooke made him confess.

She glared before taking a breath, realising that this maybe wasn't a bad thing. "I've been a fellow for around 5 months now and I am being thrown straight into the big leagues. This could make or break my career all because Karen Roe, one of the biggest legends I will ever know, had faith in me. The same Karen Roe who is also my mother in law. If I screw up in there, I don't know how my husband is ever going to be able to look at me and how we are ever going raise our children together, knowing that I gorked Grammy." She said quickly.

Andy scrunched up his nose; "Gorked Grammy?"

Brooke rolled her eyes; "It's a real and serious fear. You, go."

"Karen Roe is a giant among men and not just for the reasons you think. She's saved more penises in her OR than any other surgeon on the planet and all I can think about are the dozens of men with zero functioning penises doomed to live out their sexless lives if I botch this surgery."

Brooke raised her eyebrows; "… That's what you're worried about? Men and their junk?"

"That, and if I lose her—I've lost enough." He confessed.

"So let's keep her alive… because that's what we do. And we do it very well." She rhymed as Andy smirked ever so slightly, knowing in that moment with clear certainty, that there was no one better for this task than a Davis.

Brooke and Andy took deep breaths before walking into the OR—and stopping dead in their tracks when they saw all the surgical staff, Karen, Keith and Lucas dancing around the OR to Tina Turner. It appeared Lucas was right about Karen loving to dance.

Brooke smiled widely and looked at Andy who looked bewildered. Brooke simply shrugged before dancing her way over to Lucas and dancing happily with him.

Only Karen Roe could go into a life changing surgery like this. No matter what happened next, they would always have this moment. It was theirs and no one could take it from them.

* * *

A short while later, Lucas was pacing the gallery while Keith sat stoically still, watching and waiting.

"And just like that, we are ready to navigate." Andy announced as Tina Turner's 'The Best' resounded through the speakers—much to the infuriation of Lucas.

"Do you want to confirm the accuracy first?" Brooke asked.

Andy rolled his eyes; "What would I do without someone here to remind me of the obvious?" he questioned.

"Maybe if we had a little less music and little more concentration…" Brooke grumbled.

"_I'm simply the best! Better than all the rest!_" Andy belted out as Brooke sighed.

"This is going to be a long day…"

"And you are going to love every minute of it Davis, don't even _bother _pretending otherwise!"

A short while later, Brooke and Hargrove were making good progress and were just about ready to remove the tumour after cutting around the edges.

"OK, it looks like we are clear to remove the tumour on block." Brooke said happily. As she went to lift it, she struggled to get it free and frowned; "Hold on… I can't get it free."

"Ok, it's time to suck and pluck." Andy explained as Brooke raised an eyebrow.

"Excuse me?"

"A tumour is like a grape, you suck out the insides the pluck the skin. Suck and pluck."

Brooke scrunched up her nose; "Could you call it something else?"

"Like what?"

"Literally _anything_."

"I hate this guy…" Lucas grumbled in frustration as he paced in the gallery.

"Lucas, sit." Keith insisted. The last thing he wanted to listen to was Lucas's frustrated remarks.

"No, I hate him, I just want to jump through this glass and choke him out. He's bopping over my mom's spine!" Lucas exclaimed.

"Lucas, take a walk." They heard Brooke say through the monitor as he finally stopped moving. He walked over to the intercom and hit the button.

"Did you hear that?" he asked.

Brooke chuckled; "No, I did not hear whatever you were saying but I can see you pacing and shouting in my peripheral vision and I think you should take a walk."

"Yeah… I'm taking a walk." Lucas said as he quickly left the gallery, knowing that Brooke was almost always right.

"… he was complaining about me, right?" Andy asked

"Oh for sure." Brooke confirmed, knowing Lucas all too well.

The surgery continued, but a few moments later, Brooke stumbled across another problem.

"The tumour's not decompressing." She said as Andy frowned.

"What?"

"It's too dense, like it's made of cartilage or something." She explained.

"Damn it. I can't get it either. Kill the music." Andy said as the OR became silent, the only sound being the steady beeps of the monitors. After a few moments, Andy gulped and prepared to present his solution. "We need to go in from the front."

Brooke eyes widened; "Her spine is exposed right now, if we turn her, we risk losing function in her forearm and hand—"

"It's the only way."

"Ok, well let me ask you one question first. Are you _insane?_" Brooke questioned, not seeing how this was their best option.

"We close up the incision, we flip her onto her side, I go in from the front we meet in the middle to decompress and unearth this thing."

"So the answer is yes, you _are_ insane—"

"We get a few more people in here we can flip her—"

"And keep her still and not sever her spine not to mention have to re scrub, re drape, re scrub."

"_Gorked Grammy."_ Andy remined her.

Brooke glared, two could play that game. _"Dozens of sexless men."_

"If this were you on the table, what would you want?" Andy questioned as Brooke stopped and took a breath.

She would want them to do it. She would want them to risk it. She looked up into the gallery at Keith. If this went wrong because they took a massive risk, what would she tell them? Could she tell them? But what other choice did she have. What other choice did Karen have?

"For the record… _I do not like you_." She begrudgingly succeeded.

* * *

They had operated on Karen for 12 hours. 12 hours of confusion and uncertainty. They knew this was going to be a complicated surgery, but they didn't realise just how complicated until they got in. Having to turn her on the table was not something they had anticipated. It was a huge risk – but she was alive.

As they explained to Karen when she woke up in the ICU, they could only get 95% of the tumour without costing her motor functions. Karen was surprised—she assumed they would get the whole tumour or they would kill her trying.

"Karen, I am so sorry." Brooke apologised as she held her mother in law's hand. They'd tried so hard and they had been so close but it just wasn't enough.

"Sorry? _I'm alive_. I can live with this for many years. People live with cancer, we've all seen it happen." Karen said optimistically. This wasn't something that could immediately kill her. It was something she could learn to live with and control and potentially even thrive with. It didn't need to be doom and gloom. Brooke and Andy had given her a chance.

"You'd have to get scans every three months to make sure the tumour doesn't grow." Andy remained her, wanting to make the reality of the situation clear. While she could live a perfectly decent life with this tumour, it would always be looming.

"and in between I'll operate, and I'll hug my children, make love to my husband—"

"OK…" Lucas grumbled as he awkwardly cleared his throat and rested his hand on Brooke's shoulder.

"Chase my Sophie and snuggle my two new grandbabies. You two have given me my _life_ back." Karen assured them as Brooke wiped away a stray tear.

"Now what? Cause we didn't plan on this." Lucas said with a little laugh, finding it a little strange that for once his mother hadn't planned something out.

"These two pulled off a miracle… so we are going to have a party. We just might have to wait a couple of months, so I can get on the dance floor." Karen said with as much a chuckle as she could provide.

* * *

After showering and taking a moment to herself to consider all that had happened today, Brooke made her way back round to the ICU. She opened the door and saw Karen fast asleep, while Lucas sat on the sofa by the bed.

She smiled softly at him and handed him a drink.

"Hey. I called Matty to check on Sophie and I could hear her laughing her little head off in the background. Something tells me Matty has her jacked up on sugar." Brooke said with a laugh as she sat down beside him.

Lucas chuckled; "He's going to have a great time trying to get her to bed."

"Tell me about it, I'm glad we're not the ones dealing with it."

"Are you ok?" Lucas asked after a moment of silence. "You were on your feet for a really long time—" he said as he rested his hand on her stomach.

"All three of us are perfectly fine." She assured him as she rested a hand on his cheek.

"You were a goddess today." Lucas said as Brooke playfully rolled her eyes.

"Lucas—"

"I'm serious. A goddess. You walked on water, you jumped through fire you— you did the most _amazing_ thing today and I don't know how I can _ever _show you how much it means to me. How much _you_ mean to me." He told her quietly.

Brooke smiled softly; "You already do. Every day." She assured him.

"You know… your dad would be so beyond proud of you right now." Lucas told her softly as Brooke couldn't hide her smile.

"Yeah… he would be, wouldn't he?"

"For sure."

"… He'd also be insanely jealous." Brooke joked as Lucas laughed.

"Yeah. That too." He said, as they fell into a comfortable silence.

Brooke rested her hand on top of Lucas's; "We're going to be ok Lucas."

"I feel like you've been saying that a lot to me recently."

"Maybe. Doesn't make it any less true." She said as he lifted her hand and kissed it.

They sat in silence for a few moments, before Brooke felt a sharp pain in her stomach and inched forward.

"Ah…"

"Are you ok?" Lucas asked as he sat up straighter.

"I'm fine, probably just some really aggressive kicking—Ah!" she said again as the pain hit her.

"I don't think that's kicking—"

"I'm only 29 weeks, these babies are not coming today—Ah!" she said again as Lucas moved in front of her.

"Brooke, you know this pregnancy is high risk, 29 weeks is a freakin miracle, now can we please get you up to obs?" he asked as he ran his hand over her hair.

"Ok" she relented as he helped her stand up. As Lucas moved towards the door, Brooke stopped them. "Hey. We're going to be parents again."

Lucas smiled softly; "Yeah. We are."

Lucas rested his forehead against Brooke's as they closed their eyes for a brief moment.

"Let's do this." Brooke said quietly.

She knew her babies were early, she knew they had a long road ahead—but something inside of her told her that everything was going to be alright.


	40. Fat Babies and Forever Loves

**Time for some more Brucas babies and some quick time jumps... Enjoy :)**

* * *

**Chapter Forty –** **Fat Babies and Forever Loves **

As soon as Lucas and Brooke had made it up to the maternity ward, Brooke's waters broke and after a quick assessment from the OBGYN, they determined that it was safest to deliver the twins now. There was a very strong rate of survival and the OB (and Rachel after a quick consult) were incredibly confident that the babies would thrive.

At 2.55am, weighing 2lbs 8oz and 2lbs 10oz, Isabella Charlotte and Zachary Austin Scott were born 10 weeks early.

Despite their premature entry into the world, the two babies were doing well and all of their loved ones were so excited to meet them. That morning, Victoria had come rushing through the doors and the following day Harrison had arrived into town, followed by Brooke's nana and all of her aunts. Matty decided to stick around for a little while to help look after Sophie At her instance, he brought Sophie round to the NICU everyday so she could look at her new brother and sister through the window. She was so intrigued by them and was already looking forward to having two new friends to play with.

Karen had been so disappointed to miss everything. She couldn't even get out of bed to come and see them and her head was stuck in her neck brace, so even if she could, she couldn't have looked over very clearly into their incubators. For now, she had to deal with videos and photos—though it just wasn't enough. She was frustrated and wanted her recovery to speed itself along even more than she already did.

Before they all knew it, 4 weeks had flown by and Izzie and Zach were getting stronger everyday and were showing no signs of any deficits despite being so early.

"They're just so tiny" Rachel said with the softest smile on her face as she, Nathan, Brooke and Lucas stood over Izzie and Zach's incubators.

"I know…" Brooke whined, amazed that she had made these two tiny humans.

"They're gaining weight like absolute champs though" Nathan said as he took a step back and lifted their charts.

Lucas smirked; "Fat babies" he said as he and Nathan fist bumped.

"Izzie is now up to 4lbs 8oz, Zach is 4lbs 13oz, all in 4 weeks." Nathan said with an assured nod as he flicked through their charts.

"And they're showing no signs of deficits?" Brooke asked, probably for the millionth time in the past four weeks, but she needed to hear it over and over again.

"No. They're doing great." Nathan said with a smile which Brooke anxiously returned.

"This is weird." Brooke said as she started to fidget.

Rachel frowned; "Why?"

"As long as I have been in Seattle… I don't think one person here has had an uncomplicated birth story. Surely _something's_ going to go wrong—" she said quickly.

Lucas rested his hand on her shoulder; "You can't think like that Brooke."

"I know, I know, I'm sorry… we have two fat and healthy babies." She said, to assure everyone she had heard what Nathan said and understood it explicitly. She couldn't live anticipating something bad happening, they had to take each day as it came.

"Yeah, we do." Lucas said as he kissed the side of her head.

Rachel looked back over the incubators; "Izzie and Zach Scott… you are just beyond gorgeous!" she said with a little squeal, so excited to have two new godchildren to spoil.

"Sophie is dying to see them, I wish we didn't have to hold her at the window." Brooke said. Every evening when they went home to see Sophie, she asked about Izzie and Zach and when she could play with them. They decided to keep her out of the NICU—just for health reasons—but they were just as keen for Sophie to meet them as she was.

"She'll get to see them properly soon enough. I'd like for them to gain a few more lbs before you can take them home, but it will be well before Christmas." Nathan told them.

"Sounds like the perfect Christmas gift." Lucas said happily, just as Kate walked in.

"Hey. How are these cuties doing?" Kate asked as she peered in the boxes.

"Really well, they've almost hit the 5lb mark." Brooke informed her proudly.

"That's amazing. They're little warriors. Are we all set for thanksgiving?" Kate asked. Brooke and Lucas were planning on spending thanksgiving in New York with Victoria and her brothers, but seeing as the twins came earlier than expecting, Kate offered to host everyone at hers instead, and they couldn't be more grateful.

"Yes, and thank you again for hosting, mom and I are so grateful—" Brooke began, but Kate quickly stopped her.

"Anything for family." She said as she rubbed her shoulder. "And I don't want you to be away from these two anymore than you do. I'm glad they're doing well. I'll see you later!"

* * *

Another 4 weeks came and went and it was the week before Christmas. In the NICU, Lucas stood holding Izzie while Brooke rocked a slightly fussy Zach. In the past four weeks, the twins had put on another 2 and a half lbs. They were breathing on their own, they showed no signs of mental or physical deficits—you couldn't even tell they were preemies.

"So, everything looks great. These guys are ready to go home." Rachel told Brooke and Lucas as they smiled widely.

"Seriously?" Brooke asked, not quite believing it.

"Yeah. I know these past 8 weeks have been incredibly tough on all of you, but you have two incredibly strong and healthy babies considering they were born at 29 weeks." Rachel said.

Lucas looked down at his sleeping daughter in his arms; "They are two rays of sunshine in a particularly dark time." He said quietly, thinking about Karen and all that she was going through.

"I can't wait for your mom to see them." Brooke said, knowing it was driving Karen crazy that she couldn't hold them or really see them right now.

Rachel frowned; "Karen still hasn't seen them?"

"She can't bend her head right now because she's still in the neck brace, so she hasn't seen them in person. She's seen videos and photos but—it's been hard." Lucas explained as Rachel nodded.

"And Sophie is going to _freak_ when she gets home from day care and sees these little monkeys." Brooke said with a giggle as she ran her finger down Zach's little nose.

Lucas chuckled; "She'll no doubt pretend that she's the parent." He assumed, considering how she loved to take care of her baby dolls.

"She'd probably be a good one too. Now get out of here, enjoy your fat and healthy babies." Rachel told them as they carefully placed their babies in their car seats, ready to take them home.

As soon as they got home, Sophie came rushing over, buzzing to see the new babies. Lucas sat Sophie on his lap and placed a giant pillow over hers, while Brooke carefully sat the babies on top of it for Sophie to 'hold'. To say she was infatuated by them would be an understatement.

After finally getting an excited Sophie to go to sleep, they lay Zach and Izzie in the middle of their bed and lay on either side of them, just staring and taking them in. The past 8 weeks had felt like a bit of a dream, they could barely recall all that had happened. All they knew now was that their babies were here. Happy and healthy and thriving.

"We made them…" Brooke mumbled as Izzie wrapped her little hand around Brooke's index finger.

"Yeah we did…"

"They are so beautiful and healthy…"

"Yeah, they are…"

Brooke gulped; "It almost seems too good to be true."

"Hey" Lucas said as Brooke looked up at him, the worry evident in her eyes; "I know what you mean… but we _deserve_ this Brooke. After your dad and Sophie's birth and my mom—we deserve this slice of _goodness._ Let's enjoy it."

Brooke nodded; "Yeah. Let's enjoy it."

* * *

A week later, Keith, Karen, Lily, Lucas, Brooke and Sophie all sat around Keith and Karen's dining room table enjoying their Christmas dinner. While Lucas coaxed Sophie into eating her last few vegetables, Brooke looked over her shoulder to make sure that the twins were ok while they lay in their bassinets by the table.

"They're like little dolls." Keith said with a smile as Brooke turned back round.

"I know… the past few days with them have been _bliss_. That new born baby smell—to _die_ for." Brooke said happily, loving just sitting and smelling their little heads.

"Yeah, even their diapers don't smell that bad" Lucas said with a laugh.

"Even though I can't really see them I know they are _perfect._" Karen said, turning her head as best she could in her neck brace to look at them.

"Momma?" Sophie asked as Brooke looked down the table at her.

"Yeah, baby?"

"When can Izzie and Zachie play with me?" Sophie asked, growing more and more impatient at how unfun her brother and sister were.

"They're still pretty tiny honey, they don't like to do much other than sleep" Brooke explained to her with a little smile.

"Well that's _boring_…" Sophie said in a huff, before turning to Lucas. In mind, Lucas was Superman, and he could do anything. "Daddy? Can you make time go faster?" she asked as they all chuckled.

Lucas lifted Sophie onto his lap and hugged her tightly; "Even if I could I wouldn't because I don't want you growing up too fast."

"Grammy?" Sophie said, making her way around the table. "Will you play a game with me?"

Karen smiled sadly; "Oh honey I would love than more than anything but I'm not feeling too hot right now, but I promise, as soon as I can move my head properly, the first thing I will do is play with you." She said as she booped her lightly on the nose, causing Sophie to giggle and snuggle into Lucas's chest.

"You can play with Maya later today Soph, remember? We're having a Christmas day sleep over and then Nana and Martin and Harry and Matty are coming to see." Brooke reminded her. Ever since Ted had died, the Davis clan had made a pact to always spend Boxing Day together, and they had managed to stick to their word over the last 5 years. It was remarkable that Victoria and Kate ever got to a place where they could consider each other a friend.

Sophie's face lit up; "I remember, I remember!" she said happily as she jumped off Lucas's lap and ran into the living room to play with her new toys Grammy and Grampy had bought her.

"Are you ok Karen?" Brooke asked, seeing that she looked a little downtrodden about not being able to play with Sophie.

"Yes, I'm sorry. I hate to be a party pooper but I am exhausted. Would it be ok if I went to bed?" Karen asked.

"Of course, mom. Get your rest." Lily told her as they all stood from the table.

"I'm sorry… I couldn't even chase Sophie around that tree this morning or look into the beautiful eyes of my two new grandbabies who I am beyond thankful are here, healthy and safe." Karen told them.

"You'll get to do all of those things really soon." Brooke assured her as Lucas helped her walk down the hallway.

"And I'm sorry I was no help with the meal—"

Lucas chuckled; "Mom, it's really ok."

She smiled and she rested her hands on Lucas and Lily's cheeks. "Merry Christmas babies, Merry Christmas Brooke"

"Merry Christmas Karen."

"Can I help you upstairs?" Keith asked.

"No, no. I can make it to my bed on my own." She insisted as they watched her slowly make her way up the stairs.

"She doesn't let me help her do anything." Keith said solemnly as Brooke rested her hand comfortingly on her arm.

"She'll get there."

"I hope so. Now, let me get another look at these babies." Keith said as they walked back over to the bassinet and watched as they slept peacefully beside one another. They found that they slept better when they were together, rather than apart, seeing as that was what they were used to when they were cooking.

"My goodness…" Keith said softly. "Zach looks just like Ted." He said, not quite believing the resemblance between Zach and his grandfather.

"Yeah. He does, doesn't he?" Brooke said as her eyes glistened with tears, wishing more than anything that her father could be there to see this.

"A handsome young man indeed… and look at Izzie's little lips and those eyelashes… just _perfect._ I am one proud Grampy." He said with a smile.

"They're going to adore you."

"And I them."

* * *

Another week had passed and Rachel, Clay, Haley and Nathan had managed to coax Brooke and Lucas out of their house for New Year's Eve, even if it was just for a few hours. They had left the babies in the very capable hands of Harry, since he had stayed on in Raleigh for a few days, and they were excited to have little bit of fun amongst all the mayhem.

However, Lucas's mind was elsewhere, and he wasn't in much of a mood to party. It didn't seem right with two babies at home and a sick mother.

"Ok," Brooke said as she approached him and set two glasses of champagne in front of him. "I pumped enough milk to last us through till tomorrow, so we're dealing with a pump and dump situ right now and we are taking _full_ advantage." She said with a little laugh, before noticing that he wasn't listening. "Hey. Where's your head at?" she asked, bringing him back down to Earth.

"Sorry, I was just distracted." He said quietly as Brooke nodded.

"Come on. Let's go home." She said, seeing that he really did not want to be here.

"This is our best friends' party and the ball hasn't even dropped yet, we can't leave." Lucas reminded her. Haley and Nathan had thrown this party really for them so they could have some fun.

"Haley and Nathan will understand, we have two newborns at home and the ball can drop in our bed…" she said as both their eyes widened at her apparent inuendo. "I did _not_ mean for that to sound so graphic, but I'm not going to take it back." She said as Lucas laughed and kissed her.

* * *

Before they knew it, another six weeks had gone by and it was Valentine's Day. Izzie and Zach were now 14 weeks and were growing brighter and more energetic every day. They had discovered their limbs and were constantly moving around and feeling everything around them. They were recognising their loved ones and smiling when they heard Lucas, Brooke or Sophie's voices. While they were still a little on the small side, they were healthy and happy. Zach looked more and more like Ted every day with the intensity of Lucas's eyes, while Izzie had the intensity of Lucas's eyes and Brooke's lips that would no doubt turn into her bright smile.

On the other hand, Karen had been struggling with her rehab. It was taking her longer than she had hoped, and she hated being below average at anything. It just wasn't her and she was frustrated and angry and it was upsetting the people around her.

Lucas would watch as she walked on the treadmill or did her stretches and could see the pain all over her face. He felt helpless, but what could he do?

He was sitting in his back garden watching Sophie play on the grass that Valentine's morning, when Brooke came outside. She set the baby monitor on the patio table and went to sit beside him on the steps.

"Hey. I have a pitch for tonight. You, me, movies, pizza, popcorn, candies, sex, repeat" she said with a smirk as she wrapped her arms around his arm.

Lucas eyed her curiously; "You know it's Valentine's Day, right? You hate Valentine's Day."

"That was before I found my forever love" she said with a smile that he returned.

"Oh, is that so?" he said as he gave her a short but sweet kiss.

They turned back round to watch Sophie play and Brooke noticed as Lucas's face fell and his whole body felt stiff. She knew he had been struggling with everything going on with Karen, and she wasn't really sure how she could make it better.

"Lucas, I know you're hurting." She said quietly as she rested her chin on his shoulder.

"Yeah, it's uh—it's the weirdest feeling in the world." He said as he looked down and sniffed, not wanting Sophie to see him upset. "I'm filled with pain but also immense _joy_. My mom is struggling so much, but—I have three healthy and beautiful children and my love for them is so consuming—" he confessed, struggling to put into words exactly what he had felt for the last 14 weeks.

"But the fear for your mom is eating it up." Brooke concluded, wanting him to know that she understood.

"Yeah. I just—I'm feeling so many things and I don't know what to do about it. I'm trying to do normal stuff and focus on the kids but I just—_I don't know what to do_." He repeated. He couldn't remember the last time in his life that he felt so _lost_.

"… the day my dad died, I wanted to just take the IV in his arm and plunge it into _my_ arm." Brooke confessed as Lucas finally turned to look at her, the intense panic evident on his face at the thought of Brooke not wanting to be in this world. "I wanted out of this life for the briefest of moments because I didn't feel like I had much of a life left without him. It was a fleeting thought, but it came. That's how bad the pain was."

Lucas gulped; "What did you do?"

"My muscles shook in ways I did not know they could move and then my eye started twitching—"

"Yeah, my eye has been twitching on and off all day. I have this shortness of breath thing happening, like I can't hold a deep breath—"

"All day, every day." Brooke said with a nod, having gone through the exact same thing in her grief. "After I finally steadied myself. I drove to the hospital and I walked around it like a ghost—until I ran into you."

Lucas nodded, remembering the day so well. "I remember."

"I broke and you picked up the pieces and put me back together." She said, recalling how she had cried in the hallway and Lucas quite literally held her before she hit the ground and allowed her to sleep in his lap for the rest of the day.

Brooke lifted Lucas's head so she could look in his eyes; "I promise I will be that same person for you. No matter what. We have a pretty over whelming life at the minute. I know you want to be there for the kids all the time, but if you need a minute to step away, _please do it. _My mom will be on the first flight out here, you know she will."

"I know, I know. But—just sitting here, watching Sophie play or holding Zach or Izzie and just listening to them breathing… it's more comforting than I can put into words. I know it may seem like a lot to bring these babies into the world when my mom is like this but—they have been my saving grace. You have been my saving grace." He assured her. Despite his pain and suddenly having to look after two babies, they provided more comfort than he could explain. In a way, they were looking after him by reminding him of the joy that was in the world and he couldn't be more grateful.

Brooke smiled; "I will always be your saving grace… and you'll always be mine." She assured him, knowing that she was in the presence of her forever love.


End file.
